Instant Alert: White House downplays worries about stock market plunge, says 'the fundamentals of this economy are very strong'

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White House downplays worries about stock market plunge, says 'the fundamentals of this economy are very strong'

by Bob Bryan on Feb 5, 2018, 3:38 PM

White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah played down concern over the stock market's intense sell-off.
Shah told reporters "markets do fluctuate" and "the fundamentals of this economy are very strong."

White House officials are downplaying the recent chaos in the stock market, saying its a short-term wobble and the US economy remains resilient.

"Look, markets do fluctuate in the short term," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah. "We all know that. And they do that for number of reasons. But the fundamentals of this economy are very strong and they're headed in the right direction — for the middle class, in particular."

Stocks tanked in trading Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling as much as 1,500 points. That was a continuation of a fall from Friday, which saw the Dow close down just under 666 points.

Analysts cited a slew of reasons for the sell-off, ranging from increasing wage pressures to high valuations.

Shah said that the positive economic news, including raising wages, are directly tied to President Donald Trump's policies.

"On Friday, where you referenced, we also saw some really good news in the economy, which is wage growth rising at the fastest pace than it has in any point in eight years, since 2009," he told reporters aboard Air Force One. "Unemployment, nationally, is at 4.1 percent. That's the lowest level in almost two decades."

In particular, Shah touted the positive wage boosts by major companies following the passage of the GOP's tax reform bill.

"And the tax cuts and reform bill, as we're already seeing, is leading to hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in the United States," Shah said. "Hundreds of companies giving additional raises, bonuses, benefits, and everything else to employees. We're very excited about the strength of the economy."

For the latest updates on the sell-off, check out Markets Insider»