US Stocks, Dollar Plunge as Trump Attacks Fed Chair Powell

By Staff, Agencies

US stocks and the dollar plunged again as President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on the US central bank boss calling him "a major loser" for not lowering interest rates.

In a social media post, Trump called on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates "pre-emptively" to help boost the economy, saying Powell had been consistently too slow to respond to economic developments.

"There can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW," he wrote.

Trump's criticism of Powell's handling of the US economy comes as his own plans for tariffs have driven a stock market sell-off and raised fears of economic recession.

The US president's intensifying clash with Powell, whom he named to lead the Fed during his first term, has added to the market turmoil.

The S&P 500, which tracks 500 of the biggest US companies, fell roughly 2.4% on Monday. It has lost roughly 12% of its value since the start of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.5% and has dropped about 10% so far this year, while the Nasdaq fell more than 2.5% and is down roughly 18% since January.

Though the dollar and US government bonds are typically considered safe assets in times of market turmoil, they have not escaped the recent turbulence.

The dollar index - which measures the strength of the dollar against a set of currencies including the Euro - on Monday fell to its lowest level since 2022. Meanwhile interest rates on US government debt also rose, as investors demanded higher returns for holding Treasuries.

Trading on most major stock indexes in the Asia-Pacific region was subdued on Tuesday afternoon.

Japan's Nikkei 225 and the ASX 200 in Sydney were around 0.1% lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was about 0.2% higher.

Meanwhile, the price of gold hit a new record high as investors seek out so-called "safe-haven" assets.

Trump's criticism of Powell dates back to his first term in office, when he also reportedly discussed firing him. Since winning the election, he has urged Powell to lower borrowing costs.

The latest criticism follows Powell's warnings that Trump's import taxes were likely to drive up prices and slow the economy.

Trump's latest comments come as top economic policymakers are gathering in Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund [IMF] and World Bank.