• April 28, The Dow Jones fell as President Donald Trump approaches the 100-day mark on his term in office. Today, President Trump argued that Saudi Arabia was not paying its fair share for defense in the Middle East. He also made similar statements about South Korea. In addition, the U.S. State Department has announced plans to cut back spending and reduce the number of diplomats and civil servants by 9%.
In economic news, U.S. GDP registered at a paltry 0.7% for the first quarter. That figure is well below the 1.2% rise predicted by economists and the 2.1% uptick during the fourth quarter of 2016. The U.S. economy saw weak consumer spending and less business investment into inventories. Analysts also blamed the warmer weather for the downturn in utility spending.
• In Dow Jones news today, the markets were flat after a wild day of economic data and speculation on government plans to break up major U.S. banks.
• Gains in the technology sector helped traders offset concerns about a report indicating President Donald Trump is considering a plan to break up the "Too Big to Fail" banks. Bloomberg reported today that the Trump administration could consider efforts to revive the Glass-Steagall law that separated commercial lending from investment banking. During his campaign, Trump supported a "21st Century Glass-Steagall" Act.
• Markets are also eyeing the U.S. Federal Reserve on the eve of the May meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The Fed will kick off a two-day meeting on monetary policy Tuesday. The central bank is not expected to hike interest rates in May, but markets are more focused on the discussion about potential rate hikes later this year.
• Asia markets traded mostly higher, tracking overnight advances in the U.S. where the Nasdaq hit record intraday and closing highs.
Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.43 percent in early trade, while the Topix index was up 0.53 percent. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was up by 0.63 percent.
Reference: Money Morning, Reuters, CNBC
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