- The Dow Jones industrial average is set to open down 250 points after President Donald Trump warned Russia over its cooperation with the Syrian government.
- Trump told Russia to “Get ready” for engagement in Syria.
- Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set to fall 1% at the open.
- You can follow the Dow’s movements live here.
The Dow Jones industrial average is set to dive 250 points at Wednesday’s open after President Trump escalated growing tensions between the US and Russia over Syria.
“Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria,” Trump tweeted. “Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”
Trump’s tweet followed Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin telling Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV that “If there is a strike by the Americans, then… the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired.”
That escalating rhetoric seems to have spooked investors, with futures for all three major US indices pointing to losses of about 1% at the 9:30 a.m. ET open.
Here’s the scoreboard as of 7.55 a.m. ET:
- Dow Jones— down 247 points (1.01%) to 24,162
- S&P 500— down 26 points (0.98%) to 2,631
- Nasdaq— down 61 points (0.93%) to 6,554
“A touch of risk aversion crept into financial markets on Wednesday, as the sense of relief over easing U.S-China trade tensions was overshadowed by the rising geopolitical risk surrounding Syria,” Lukman Otunuga, Research Analyst at FXTM said in an email.
Alongside fears of US involvement in conflict in Syria, investors are also likely to watch the release of minutes from the March meeting of the US Federal Reserve’s FOMC.
“Investors are also awaiting the release of the FOMC minutes from the March meeting, at which the central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points a released new economic forecasts containing upward revisions to rate, inflation and growth forecasts,” Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
“The change was largely attributable to tax reform which was passed at the end of 2017 but many expected the Fed to go further and forecast a fourth hike this year rather than next.”
Addtionally, the consumer price index will cross the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists are expecting a 2.4% year-over-year advance.
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