Stocks edged higher in choppy early afternoon trading on Thursday as investors assess former FBI Director James Comey’s statements regarding an investigation into Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Comey said he was disturbed by President Donald Trump’s bid to get him to drop a probe into former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, but would not say whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice.
Comey said he had no doubt that Russia interfered with the election, but was confident that no votes had been altered.
Investors are concerned that any major revelation by Comey could dampen already flagging momentum for Trump’s agenda of lower taxes and lax regulations. Bets that Trump can implement his agenda are partly behind a rally that has taken stock indexes to record highs.
“The hearings should be mostly a non-event for stocks unless there is some kind of unforeseen ’smoking gun' either way – detrimental to the president or beneficial to him,” said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.
