US equity markets are poised to open sharply lower later today following reports that US prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, the Chair of the Federal Reserve.
In pre-market trading, the benchmark S&P 500 was down 0.7%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite was showing steeper losses of 1.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also under pressure, declining by 0.6% ahead of the opening bell in New York.
European bank stocks came under pressure after Donald Trump called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates, prompting concerns over potential regulatory intervention and profitability across the sector.
The US president warned that lenders would be “in violation of the law” unless they reduced credit card interest rates to 10% and maintained them at that level for a year. Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, he criticised current pricing practices, stating that some providers were charging rates of close to 30% without consumers fully realising the cost.
In London, banking stocks led declines on the FTSE 100. Barclays fell by as much as 4.8%, making it the weakest performer on the index and pushing the shares to their lowest level in nearly a month. HSBC also weakened, slipping up to 1.1%, after Mr Trump accused major lenders of having “really abused the credit cards”.
Investor sentiment was further dented as markets moved towards safe-haven assets following reports that officials linked to Mr Trump had threatened to seek an indictment against Jerome Powell over comments made to Congress regarding a building renovation project.
Elsewhere in the London market, AstraZeneca shares fell as much as 1.6% after its secondary listing in New York was removed from the Nasdaq-100.
