Scott Bessent, founder and chief executive officer of Key Square Group LP, during an interview in Washington, D.C., June 7, 2024.
Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. stock market appeared to cheer President-elect Donald Trump’s presumptive nominee for Treasury secretary, who told CNBC earlier in November that he sees an era of strong growth and lower inflation ahead.
Stock market futures rose and Treasury yields tumbled early Monday following the announcement late Friday that Trump would pick Scott Bessent, a familiar Wall Street figure, to take on his administration’s most important economic role.
The move sent a message that Trump wants someone with strong market credentials as well as a similar philosophy for the role.
“This pick should please markets given Bessent’s in-depth understanding of financial markets and the economy – in particular the bond market the Trump administration will need to keep on [its] side if it is to advance its agenda successfully,” Sarah Bianchi, Evercore ISI’s chief strategist of international political affairs and public policy, and colleagues wrote in a note.
Bianchi added that markets “couldn’t have done much better” than Bessent.
Since Trump’s victory earlier this month, in which he also carried a red wave that flipped the Senate to Republicans and retained GOP control of the House, markets have been mostly positive, albeit volatile. In particular, bond yields have scaled higher, with some interpreting the move as
