By Tanya Agrawal
(Reuters) – U.S. stocks were set to open lower on Friday as a drop in oil prices weighed and investors assessed if the “Trump rally” had gone too far too soon.
Oil prices were down about 1 percent after U.S. crude inventories rose for a seventh week, showing the market is still struggling to ease oversupply. [O/R]
President Donald Trump’s promises of tax reforms, reduced regulations and increased infrastructure spending has helped spur equities to record highs.
The S&P 500 is up more than 10 percent and at all-time highs since the election. The Dow notched a record high for a tenth straight session on Thursday, its longest such streak since 1987.
But, with Trump giving scant detail on his plans – including on one on Thursday to bring millions of jobs back to the United States – those gains have come with the markets trading in a tight range.
The benchmark S&P 500 index has not registered a move of at least one percent in either direction since Dec. 7.
“Investors have embraced this oversimplified fundamental story of Trump’s impact on the financial market and you’re starting to see that narrative unravel a bit,” said Aaron Clark, portfolio manager at GW&K Investment Management.
