LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Wednesday's market drama on reports of an imminent ouster of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has calmed quickly, with President Donald Trump saying it was " highly unlikely" he would fire the central bank boss even as speculation continue to brew.

US stocks recovered from session lows to end Wednesday's trading session higher after President Trump said he's "not planning" to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell despite new reports emerging suggesting he was close to making that decision.

The Federal Reserve is an independent organization, meant to be insulated from politics, and the Supreme Court suggested this year that President Donald Trump would need a reason, or cause, to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Investors are becoming more measured in their reaction to news about Trump's Washington policy, with Wednesday's whipsawing headlines over Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell triggering a reaction that fell short of what could happen if the Fed chair was indeed fired.

The stock market does not want Donald Trump to fire Jerome Powell.

President Donald Trump’s attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell are so commonplace at this point that they barely register in financial markets these days. The rapidly intensifying multi-pronged efforts by Trump’s advisers to amplify and expand on Trump’s attacks are a good reason to rethink that indifference.

The Federal Reserve’s political independence — the sense that the world’s most powerful central bank makes decisions based on economic conditions, not short-term political considerations — is a critical national asset. President Donald Trump is eroding it in ways that could be bad for the country and his own agenda.

However, it never looked like markets fully priced in Powell’s exit yesterday afternoon. Pricing for a September Fed cut didn’t go beyond 20bp, and EUR/USD failed to get beyond 1.1720 even before Trump’s denial caused an unwinding of all market moves.

Raphael Bostic remains focused on economic data despite Trump's criticism of Powell, noting that businesses in the southeast are experiencing real price pressures from tariffs.

Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, started Thursday’s trading session on a flat note. While Nifty50 was

President Trump renewed calls for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign and potentially hinted at support for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to be Powell's replacement. Yahoo Finance Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul and Barron senior markets analysis writer Paul R.