Dem Rep. Bera: Stock Market Fall Probably a ‘Correction’ After ‘Incredible Run’ and Middle East Is a Factor

On Monday’s broadcast of “CNN Newsroom,” Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) stated that the downturn in the stock market “is probably a market correction” after “an incredible run over the past few years” in the market. And that rising tensions in the Middle East are also a factor.

Host Jim Acosta asked, “It is not a good look right now. It’s only down about 2.5%. That is not panic territory, as Julia Chatterley was saying at the beginning of this program. It is cause for concern, no question about it. What’s your reaction to what’s happening right now?”

Bera responded, “[T]his is probably a market correction. We forget that it’s been an incredible run over the past few years, particularly — the past decade. So, I think this is a market correction. As one of your speakers said, the Fed does have room to play around with interest rates, lower interest rates. And I think that’s a good thing. So, they’ve got some tools to help soften this.”

Bera added, “I think the Fed’s actually done a pretty good job managing inflation, bringing inflation rates down. They’ve looked at a really robust job market and so forth. And again, you could see a cooling of that, it could be seasonal. If they have to go back and do some emergency rate cuts, I don’t think that’s what they’re going to do. I think you might see a bigger cut in September when they meet.”

Later, while discussing tensions in the Middle East, Bera stated, “[W]e talked about the stock market, I bet that is also factoring into some of the concerns about what’s happening geopolitically around the world.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett