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Trump Calls Worst Month for Stocks Since 2009 a ‘Little Glitch’

Trump Calls Worst Month for Stock Market Since 2009 a ‘Little Glitch’

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said the U.S. stock market suffered “a little glitch” in December but that it would go up once he negotiates trade deals with China and others.

“We had a little glitch in the stock market last month but it’s still up” since his election, Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday. He pegged the increase at about 30 percent, and added later: “We need a little help from the Fed.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 27.3 percent since Nov. 8, 2016 and the NASDAQ 100 index of large companies is up 32.3 percent, but the broader S&P 500 index is up just 17.3 percent.

Trump has frequently criticized the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, for interest rate increases he’s blamed for recent market swoons. Last month, he discussed firing Powell, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in tweets that Trump had concluded he didn’t have the authority to remove the central bank leader.

To contact the reporter on this story: Toluse Olorunnipa in Washington at tolorunnipa@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu

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