Stock futures slip as Trump escalates attack on Fed independence: Live updates

U.S. stock futures were lower Tuesday, adding to a slide in the major averages to start the week, after President Donald Trump removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the board of the central bank.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 56 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were also down 0.1% each.

Long-term Treasury yields rose after the Trump move, while short-term yields declined as investors steepened the yield curve on the notion rates may go lower in the short-term, but eventually go higher as a politicized Fed becomes less attentive to inflation.  The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was last down 0.2%.

Trump’s unprecedented move adds to the pressure the president has been putting on the central bank’s independence. By law, a president may only remove Fed governor “for cause.” As a result, it is possible the matter will be challenged in the courts.

There are currently six members on the Fed’s board, with one seat vacant after the resignation of Adriana Kugler earlier this month. Removing Cook would leave five members, with non-Trump appointees still holding a majority. However, if Stephen Miran is cleared for the Kugler vacancy and the president is successful in removing Cook, it would give Trump a 4-3 majority.

If Fed Chair Jerome Powell leaves his seat voluntarily after his term expires in May, it would give the president a fifth vote.

Investors already appeared hopeful about the prospect of lower interest rates coming in September, as hinted at by Powell last week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They’re also looking ahead to Nvidia’s earnings report on Wednesday, which could bolster the megacap tech trade following its recent slide. The “Magnificent Seven” stocks rallied Friday, but only after five straight days of losses.

“I still think long term, the dominant theme of this bull market is AI. And technology expectations are high going into [Nvidia’s] report. But whether they beat or miss, I would zoom out a little bit, I think this underlying trend is still positive,” Truist Wealth co-chief investment officer Keith Lerner told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Monday.

“If we had a little bit of a hiccup with Nvidia, we will be using that as an opportunity to stick with tech because that is still where the earnest momentum is in this market,” Lerner continued. “And at this point, we have not seen any change at all in that theme.”

Trump also said Monday that he plans to impose “substantial” new tariffs as well as export restrictions on chips for countries that do not remove digital taxes.

A raft of economic reports is due out Tuesday morning. Investors will parse through releases on the latest durable goods orders and consumer confidence. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index is due out, as is the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index.

Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin is also set to speak.

Wall Street is coming off a losing session Monday, with investors taking profits after Friday’s big rally. The 30-stock Dow slid 349 points, or 0.8%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.2%, after rising earlier in the session thanks to Nvidia.