Now that the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced the House of Representatives will move forward with an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, the impact probably will be felt more acutely in the US’s capital than in the stock market.

Policy deliberations could come to a standstill while an impeachment inquiry against Trump proceeds in the House of Representatives. But past impeachments — and similar episodes such as Watergate — had little direct effect on the stock market, as economic fundamentals superseded politics.