U.S. stocks retained modest losses in late-afternoon trade on Monday, with the Dow down about 100 points, amid reports suggesting that CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow was the leading contender to replace Gary Cohn, who resigned as chief economic advisor to President Donald Trump and his director of the National Economic Council last week. Most recently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off about 100 points, or 0.4%, at 25,226, the S&P 500 index was flat at 2,787. The Nasdaq Composite Index , meanwhile, was up 0.5%, trading in record territory at 7,599, as the technology-laden index was before the report on Kudlow. According to CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Kudlow is the leading contender to head NEC and “would take the job if offered it.” A separate report from The Wall Street Journal said Kudlow would interview for the NEC role as soon as this week. Cohn who is expected leave the White House in coming weeks is viewed as departing due to a dispute over tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that he disagreed with. Critics of tariffs have made the case that such duties could spark retaliatory responses from countries, which in turn could hurt the U.S.’s economic expansion. To be sure, Kudlow is’t the only contender for the Cohn post, recent reports also pointed to the Christopher Liddell as under strong consideration. Peter Navarro, the architect of Trump’s tariff program, also is a contender, according to WSJ.
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