Investors on Wednesday appeared to reassess the risks that Kamala Harris could win the presidential contest, sending the major stock indexes plunging on the morning after the debate between Harris and Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 550 points, or 1.4 percent. The S&P 500 declined by 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was off by 0.70 percent.
Harris has said she would seek to hike a broad range of taxes, including taxes on corporate profits, unrealized capital gains, and the incomes of wealthier Americans. Many investors and Wall Street analysts think these taxes would weigh heavily on stocks.
Adding to the woes of the market on Wednesday was the report that the consumer price index showed core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, unexpectedly heated up in August. Core prices were up 0.3 percent in August, compared with expectations of 0.2 percent. In July, core prices rose 0.2 percent.
The inflation report has forced traders to rethink how far the Fed will go when it cuts interest rates next week and in the months to come. The market had been expecting even odds that the Fed would announce a cut of 50 basis points or 25 basis points. After the inflation report, the odds of a larger cut sank significantly.
There are many signs the economy is weakening, causing Wall Street once again worrying that a recession is in the offing if the Fed does not bail out the economy with enough rate cuts. The market’s view that the Fed will cut at each meeting between now and late next year is in effect a vote of no confidence in the Biden-Harris economy, a prediction that the economy will weaken further.
With Tuesday’s debate being regarded as helping Harris, investors worry that her severe tax proposals could slow the economy, lower corporate profits, and send stocks lower.
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