U.S. stocks on Wednesday retained their grip on solid afternoon gains, even as President Donald Trump said his former strategist Steve Bannon “lost his mind.” Trump was reacting to to recent comments by Bannon, who referred to a reported meeting with the president’s son and Russian officials “treasonous and unpatriotic”. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 50 points, or 0.2%, at 24,874, the S&P 500 index was trading 0.5% higher above the psychologically significant level above 2,700, most recently at 2,709, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was 0.7% higher at 7,057. All three main indexes were in record territory, with a gauge of small-cap stocks the Russell 2000 index and the Dow Jones Transportation Average both trading near their own records, highlighting a sustained and broad climb to new heights for assets perceived as risky, in the early days of trade in 2018. Trump in emailed comments said Bannon had “nothing to do with me or my presidency.” Bannon is cited in a forthcoming book by Michael Wolff.” Trump has said Bannon “doesn’t represent” his “base–he’s only in it for himself.”
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From:: Stock Market News