Stocks recovered some of their earlier lows on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he is "not planning" to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, disputing earlier reports suggesting the contrary. Investors also digested the latest reports from big banks earnings and wholesale inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
Moving markets, Trump told reporters on Wednesday that his administration is "not planning on doing anything" in regards to firing Powell, but added that "he's doing a lousy job" and "fortunately, we get to make a change in the next eight months or so, and we'll pick somebody that's good."
These comments follow reports that Trump met with Republican lawmakers late Tuesday and asked "how they felt about firing the Fed Chair," a senior White House official told CNBC. Upon gaining their support, Trump reportedly signaled that he would fire Powell "soon." The New York Times reported that Trump had drafted a letter for firing the central bank leader and had showed it to those in attendance.
As for these reports, Trump confirmed that the meeting with Republican lawmakers happened, but denied that a letter was drafted.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, wholesale inflation remained flat in June, offering an unclear picture on how Trump's tariffs are impacting the U.S. economy after consumer prices rose at their fastest rate since February during the same period.
The producer price index was unchanged month-to-month in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' seasonally adjusted report. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected monthly inflation to rise by 0.2%. Moreover, the core PPI, which removes food and energy prices, was also flat.
Annually, headline PPI rose by a less-than-expected 2.3% and core PPI increased 2.6% -- each below their respective 2.7% and 3.2% gains seen in May.
On the earnings front, Bank of America
"The economy and markets are generally responding positively to the evolving policy environment," Goldman CEO David Solomon said in a statement. "But as developments rarely unfold in a straight line, we remain very focused on risk management."
Shares of ASML
"Looking at 2026, we see that our AI customers' fundamentals remain strong," CEO Christophe Fouquet said in a statement. "At the same time, we continue to see increasing uncertainty driven by macro-economic and geopolitical developments. Therefore, while we still prepare for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage."
Looking ahead, market participants will turn their attention towards U.S. retail sales for June alongside a series of Fedspeak on Thursday. Key earnings reports also expected to influence trading include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
