President Trump to sign executive order to renegotiate NAFTA, US Stocks declining, No economic Reports due today

January 23, 2017

President Trump plans to sign an executive order to renegotiate NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. NAFTA is a comprehensive agreement that sets rules for international trade and investment between the aforementioned countries. Mr. Trump’s goal is to put American workers and businesses first when it comes to trade and to return millions of jobs to the U.S.

U.S. Stocks are declining to begin the new week as investors worry about the lack of details from President Donald Trump’s proposals for tax and regulatory reforms and higher infrastructure spending. The major indices, S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq, all hit record highs after the presidential election in early November. Investors appear to be doing a little “buy on the election, sell on the inauguration” while booking some profits.

There are no economic reports due for release today. This week’s calendar includes December Existing Home Sales on Tuesday, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims and December New Home Sales on Thursday. On Friday, the closely watched Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be released, which is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period. GDP is a key metric for economic activity here in the U.S.