Trump, Powell impact markets

The dollar swung between gains and losses and Treasuries strengthened after President Donald Trump criticized the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates.

U.S. equities finished lower for the first time in three days as financial shares declined.

The critique follows Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s upbeat assessment of the domestic economy.

The greenback rallied for three consecutive days after Powell pledged to keep the domestic economy from overheating, pressuring emerging market assets and commodities.

“The market is already challenging the notion that the Fed can tighten as much as it has been projecting, but even so, it does throw a bit of a monkey wrench into that debate,” said Mazen Issa, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at TD. “This is a knee-jerk reaction.”

China said on Thursday it doesn’t want a trade war, but isn’t afraid of one.

Commodities tumbled earlier Thursday, sliding again in the face of the resurgent dollar and lingering global trade tensions.

Oil recovered after Saudi Arabia dismissed assertions it’ll oversupply demand as “without basis,” and said it “does not try to push oil into the market beyond its customers’ needs.”

Gold briefly rallied after Trump’s comments, but finished lower.

— From wire reports