By Jesse Cohen
Investing.com - Happy Halloween!
While everyone was expecting either Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell or U.S. President Donald Trump to spook markets on Thursday, it was actually negative trade headlines that did the job.
Market sentiment took a hit after Bloomberg reported that Chinese officials doubt a trade deal with the U.S. will happen.
Officials have blamed U.S. President Donald Trump and his impulsive nature and fear that he could back out even as both signs prepare to sign a deal in the coming weeks.
The weaker tone comes a day after the S&P 500 scored a record close in the wake of a Federal Reserve meeting that, as expected, delivered the third quarter-point rate cut of 2019 while also signaling that it would pause before making any further moves on monetary policy.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said monetary policy is "in a good place”, signaling additional rate cuts are unlikely because there are several areas of strength in the U.S. economy.
Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor tool, which offers a view on how investors look at the situation, doesn't see a rate move before spring at the earliest.
Powell's comments clash with President Trump's demands that the Fed cut rates even deeper to boost economic growth that ebbed to a 1.9% annual rate in the third quarter.
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-- Reuters contributed to this report