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US stock futures (ES=F, NQ=F, YM=F) rebounded after US President Trump said he doesn't plan to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and signaled a pullback on China tariffs.
Truist co-chief investment officer and chief market strategist Keith Lerner tells Morning Brief hosts Madison Mills and Brad Smith that it seems the market has found the "Trump put," or the level at which market declines are enough for the president to act.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here.
So Keith, is there a Trump put after the market action we've seen this week?
Well, it goes back to the question you had before. I think around that 4800 level on the S&P, you can see people were searching for where this put level was. And I think that I think we hit it. I think that was a level where, um, you know, there was more attention paid to the market volatility and especially the 10-year, not just the the stock market. I think there's a there's a put on on how far or how high, uh, Trump will feel comfortable with with the 10-year treasury yield as well. So yeah, I do think at least saying this, there's some focus. It is it does matter. I think the level relative to where we came into the year is lower than most people expected though.
And so with that in mind, are you kind of running through how the president is is responding to the the market the whipsaw action that actually is what a lot of people are calling self-induced? Is he finally coming around to realizing that within that self-induced nature of some of the pullbacks that we've seen that he's also responsible for any type of or inserting any type of calm back into the markets?
You know, I I think part of what you just mentioned is true. I mean, he just met he he just met with some of the biggest retailers yesterday. You know, I'd love to be, you know, you know, on the outside of that meeting listening in because I'm sure, you know, they they were talking about shelves being empty in three months. So I think more than just the stock market, I don't think he wants to have headlines that says, hey, you know, prices are going up, shelves are empty. I think that he is more sensitive, and also the polling numbers as well. So there's some sensitivity to it. Now, we also have to remember, at the end of the day, as much as the White House can influence the day-to-day, and we're seeing that, at the end of the day, you know, it's still about companies and profitability and and and making adjustments as well. And companies are still, I mean, this still, as you mentioned earlier, you know, we don't know what the next three to six months looks like, and we're seeing all this inventory being brought in ahead of time. You know, one of the concerns we have is what happens if the demand isn't there three or six months from now and they have to start, you know, reducing the prices as well.