Yesterday’s testimony of Ex FBI Director James Comey was a political drama to say the least.
The nature of the events that led ex-FBI Director James Comey to testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Thursday is extraordinary.
Starting with Comey’s sudden firing on May 9, events have been unfolding since then, with near-daily scoops about the interactions between Trump and Comey and the campaigns connections to Russia — it has been a wild ride up until this point. Journalists outside the White House (and the public) have struggled to put together scraps from anonymous sources, often only revealing a little information at a time.
Of the testimony, with its Senate and public trials it is hard to come up with the clear winner as to who from Trump or Comey won from this round. Experts are divided as to whether the testimony has increased the chances for Trump’s impeachment.
The market on the other hand took the development positively, as legal experts hinted that the testimony did nothing to expedite the President’s impeachment. The testimony amongst the political and legal experts is being hailed as Comey’s attempt to clear him of the vilification campaign carried out by the Trump administration after he was fired.
Markets soared during and after the testimony. Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ all edged up.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.04% rose 8.84 points to finish, less than 0.1%, at 21,182.53 after hitting an intraday record of 21,265.69 on strong gains in Caterpillar Inc. CAT, +1.45% and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.GS, +1.38%
The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.03% added 0.65 point to close at 2,433.79. Financials rallied 1.1% while utilities were the biggest decliners.
The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.39% gained 24.38 points, or 0.4%, to end at 6,321.76 after setting an intraday record of 6,324.06.
The market’s response goes on to show that It is evident from the market’s reaction that the testimony is more hype than substance, equivalent to preparing for a major storm that may not occur.
