US Indexes sideways as trade war fears weigh

• Gary Cohn's departure is still dragging on markets, and a lack of a successor is shaking confidence.
• Self-avowed protectionist Peter Navarro is not up for Cohon's position, and markets will take whatever good tidings they can get.

Wall Street started Wednesday on a slide, but managed to recover in the afternoon, and the major indexes have resumed trading near yesterday's closing prices.

Optimism is fading on Wall Street following yesterday's announcement of Gary Cohn's departure from the White House in the weeks to come. Indexes came into the week on a positive note, with expectations on the rise that Trump's tariff threats and apparent willingness to engage in outright trade wars with the US' major trading partners would be resolved without incident. Cohn's resignation is poorly timed, as he was viewed by many as a voice of reason while acting as Trump's top economic advisor.

US indexes slid for the first half of Wednesday's trading, but recovered after Peter Navarro, a strong protectionist who favors strong tariffs, stated during an interview with Bloomberg that he is not being considered to replace Gary Cohn. Market doubts about Trump's tariffs and their impacts are clouding sentiment on Wall Street, and major indexes are continuing to explore lower territory. 

Index Technicals

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) reached a session low of 24,535.12 before rebounding to the 24,800.00 level at the end of the day, and the Stand and Poor's 500 Index (S&P) touched 2,701.74 before returning to the 2,725.00 area in the afternoon rally. The recovery that began last Friday looks to have run its course, and the DJIA will have to compete with resistance from 24,900.00 to 25,000.00, with swing points from 24,700.00 to 24,550.00 acting as support; the S&P is fairing slightly better, but still faces resistance from 2,730.00 to 2,740.00, while resistance may prop up prices from 2,710.00 to 2,700.00.