Stocks fall after Powell says Trump is trying to undermine Fed independence

Stocks fell on Wall Street after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Justice Department had served subpoenas and threatened criminal charges, which he described as attempts to undermine the Fed's independence.

Stocks declined in early trading after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Department of Justice had served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment tied to his testimony about Federal Reserve building renovations. Powell described the threat of charges as pretexts to weaken the Fed's independence in setting interest rates. Major U.S. indexes and several bank stocks moved lower as markets reacted. Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May, and the administration has signaled the possibility of naming a replacement this month. Key developments: - The Department of Justice served subpoenas to the Federal Reserve and threatened a criminal indictment related to Powell's testimony about building renovations, as reported in the article. - Powell publicly characterized the threat of charges as attempts to undermine the Fed's independence on interest rate decisions. - Markets moved lower: the article reports the S&P 500 fell about 0.3%, the Dow lost 384 points (about 0.8%), and the Nasdaq fell about 0.2% in early trading. - The article mentions bank and credit card stocks tumbled in premarket trading, including larger declines at Capital One and Synchrony and retreating shares for Visa, Mastercard and several major banks. Summary: The reported subpoenas and threatened charges prompted market declines and renewed concerns about political pressure on the central bank. Undetermined at this time.