It’s no obstruction
As report drops, the Street yawns
The Mueller report has landed, and Wall Street is shrugging.
The hotly anticipated 448page document released by the Justice Department Thursday found that there was no sign the Trump 2016 election team tried to “conspire or coordinate” with the Russians to influence the election.
“Investors were paying attention, but they weren’t worried,” Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital Management, told The Post.
The S&P 500 index and Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. The Nasdaq was also green but little changed.
“What could have affected the market was anything that would lead to uncertainty,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. “The market does not perceive a threat from this report.”
Investors were already anticipating a clunker after Attorney General William Barr released a four-page summary of the report, which said special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
“If people felt the president’s job was in jeopardy, it would move markets. ... The risk was taken off the table,” Ablin said.
“The market is focused on other things,” Krosby added.
Indeed, an extended rout in health care stocks appeared to be a bigger problem in investors’ minds early Thursday, as concerns about “Medicare for all” legislation in Washington tamped down enthusiasm about stronger-than-expected corporate earnings.
But the sector was able to recoup most of its losses by the end of trading Thursday.
Mueller submitted his investigation report to Barr last month following a nearly two-year investigation, which led to criminal charges being brought against 34 people.