Stock Markets Hit by Trump's Travel Ban

US stocks fell on Monday, as investors fears and market uncertainty raised due to President Trump’s order to ban travel and immigration from some countries. The move has sparked heavy criticism around the globe and protests in several cities.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 200 points, retreating below 20,000 after closing at records last week while the US dollar fell against the yen and precious metals advanced as investors favored haven assets.
“Global risk sentiment appears to have been jolted somewhat by the weekend focus on President Trump’s moves on immigration,” according to Scotiabank strategists led by Shaun Osborne in Toronto. “The focus on U.S. political developments may restrain for now the underlying bid” for U.S. assets.

On Friday, Trump signed executive orders to bar admission of Syrian refugees as well as suspend travel to the United States from Syria, Iraq, Iran and four other countries on the grounds of national security.
That said, investors are worried about the potential risk of Trump’s protectionist policies as these could overshadow his pro-growth agenda.
“While we continue to think a Trump victory likely means higher US growth in 2017 than we would have expected three or six months ago, we still think volatility will be a feature of the year,” said Jim Reid, a senior strategist at Deutsche Bank.
“It just seems that there are too many uncertainties, unknowns and major policy changes attached to a Trump presidency for it to be a smooth year,” he said.
According to Reuters, the negative reaction to Trump’s orders put Wall Street’s main indexes on course for their worst day in more than three months.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 208.23 points, or 1.04 percent, to 19,885.55. The S&P 500 lost 25.28 points, or 1.10 percent, to 2,269.41 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 78.07 points, or 1.38 percent, to 5,582.71.
In Canada, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 94.15 points, or 0.60 percent, at 15,481.66. All of the index’s 10 main groups were lower.
“A new week of trading is getting off on a sour note, as key macro news, Fed action, international and domestic backlash over Trump’s immigration stand are putting investors on the defense,” Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial, wrote in a note.
“We look for a bumpy to negative ride as the ‘Worry Trade’ rules the day.”
The week has just started, but what is ahead for the markets? On Wednesday the Federal Reserve will hold its first meeting since raising interest rates in December, the tech giants Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) among others are expected to report results this week and the first US jobs report is due on Friday.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.