For years, investors have found themselves at the whim of President Donald Trump's social-media posts. Now, traders are being forced to pay attention to an unlikely official: Federal Housing Finance Agency head Bill Pulte.
Stocks have swung wildly on Pulte's comments as he opines on everything from credit score pricing, to cryptocurrencies as mortgage assets, and even the job security of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Sometimes preceded by cryptic teasers, his online comments have fueled the worst one-day drop in half a decade for credit-score provider Fair Isaac Corp., multiple slumps in credit bureau stocks and even a brief drip in the entire S&P 500 Index on Friday.
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His market moving ability has "thrust a normally obscure government official into the forefront of business news," said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers.
Friday's market pullback, while brief, saw the S&P 500 quickly drop about 0.2% in a matter of minutes after Pulte posted on X that he was "encouraged by reports" that Powell is considering resigning, without referencing any specific report. No such verified reports have emerged.
Pulte is no stranger to courting online controversy: Before joining the FHFA, the investor and self-proclaimed online philanthropist had partaken in multiple feuds on social media site X. He was also known for using his account to give
Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned Pulte's presence on X as the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs considered the nomination to his current job. Warren in a
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Pulte's position in government has given his words new weight. Fair Isaac slid 16% on May 21 after Pulte questioned credit score pricing in a series of posts on X, the biggest decline in the stock since March 2020. The selloff, which followed comments from Pulte on credit scores at a conference, wiped nearly $7.8 billion off the market value of the FICO score provider.
Shares of credit bureaus TransUnion and Equifax Inc. also fell after those comments. The stocks were again rattled last month when Pulte said on X that he was
In April, shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac spiked more than 14% after Pulte posted on X that "
Pulte isn't the only Trump administration official making waves in the stock market either. Both Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have repeatedly sent stocks higher and lower during interviews in recent months.
Trump, speaking at a White House Faith Office luncheon on Monday praised Bessent for "doing a fantastic job." "He goes on television and he calms the market," Trump said.
