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Trump, in his first news conference on Wednesday, gave no
details on tax cuts or infrastructure spending, and instead
lashed out at U.S. spy agencies and news agencies over what he
called a 'phony' Russia dossier.
He also blasted pharmaceutical companies over high drug prices,
causing health stocks to snap a six-day winning streak and a
wobble in Wall Street.
However, a rise in energy and technology stocks helped the
market close higher on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq ending at a
record high for the fourth session in a row.
But, Trump's comments hit the dollar <.DXY>, which fell to its
lowest level in nearly one month on Thursday. Prices of
safe-haven gold <XAU=> rose to their highest since late
November.
With Trump's comments at the back of their minds, investor will
turn their focus to the earnings season, which will kick off in
earnest on Friday when a trio of big banks report.
Merck <MRK.N>, one of the few health stocks that avoided the
carnage in the sector on Wednesday, gained 1.6 percent to $62.60
premarket after multiple broker upgrades.
Apple <AAPL.O> was off 0.65 percent at $118.97.
Tesaro <TSRO.O> slipped about 3 percent to $141 in thin trading
after the FDA rejected its drug, Rolapitant IV.
In economic data, a report is expected to show weekly jobless
claims rose to 255,000 last week from 235,000 a week earlier.
The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Savio D'Souza)
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