US stock market bumps & slumps amid trade war, rate hike fears

AFTER the so-called "Trump bump" came the Trump slump.

The US stock market's first correction of the Donald Trump era is still relatively modest and major indexes are much closer to records than bear markets.

There's every reason to expect more volatility this week as markets come to terms with the threat of trade wars, rising US interest rates and political instability in Italy.

The US stock market's revival from the February correction was interrupted last week by comments from recently appointed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on interest rates and from US President Donald Trump on tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had recovered to within 4 per cent of its all-time record set in January before a string of losses last week that returned…