Wall Street ends the week higher before Trump’s inauguration

(Washington) The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply higher on Friday, after a busy week in business indicators and results and before the inauguration of Donald Trump at the White House.

The Dow rose 0.78%, the NASDAQ index jumped 1.51% and the broader S&P 500 index gained 1.00%.

“Last week, the market fell sharply following the publication of better-than-expected employment figures. But today, the sentiment in the market has changed dramatically,” Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers told AFP.

The optimism of the American market stems in particular from the publication of several inflation indices during the week, including the consumer price index (CPI) on Wednesday, which gives a signal on the direction that the Federal Reserve could take. American (Fed) on its rate cut schedule.

For the next meeting, scheduled for January 28 and 29, the vast majority of market players expect rates to be maintained at their current level, between 4.25% and 4.50%, according to data collected by the monitoring tool. monitoring of the CME group, FedWatch.

“There has been a huge change” since “bond yields have improved significantly in recent days [et] stocks followed suit,” says Mr. Sosnick.

The yield on ten-year US government bonds stood at 4.62% compared to 4.61% the day before at the close. On Tuesday, it reached 4.79%, its highest since October 2023.

However, the climate remains wait-and-see before the inauguration of Donald Trump on Monday and the prospect of the implementation of inflationary policies desired by the president-elect, including a possible increase in customs duties.

During the American presidential campaign, Mr. Trump indicated that he wanted to impose 10 to 20% customs duties on all products entering the United States, and even up to 60% or even 100% on those coming from China.

On Monday, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, American markets will be closed to observe Martin Luther King Day.

The VIX index, which measures investor nervousness, was, however, down sharply since Monday, indicating “that investors’ perception of short-term risk has changed dramatically, from a relatively nervous state to a relatively optimistic,” notes Mr. Sosnick.

On Friday, the exchange platforms Coinbase (+4.92%) and Robinhood (+4.49%) climbed, as did the “miner” (creators of digital currency) Riot Platforms (+0.75%), driven by information from Bloomberg, which cites sources close to the matter, according to which Donald Trump plans to publish a decree elevating Bitcoin to the rank of political priority and giving players in the sector a voice within his administration.

The article also reports that the creation of a national strategic reserve of bitcoins is indeed being considered, which would encompass the existing holdings that the government holds in this cryptocurrency.

Elsewhere on the stock market, Chinese companies listed in New York such as Alibaba (+3.26%) and its competitors in the e-commerce sector, PDD (+5.30%) and JD.com (+10.11%) took advantage of the enthusiasm of Donald Trump who welcomed a “very good” phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday and said he expected Washington and Beijing to be able to solve “many problems together” , according to a publication on his Truth Social network.

The Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, known for its best-sellers Ozempic and Wegovy, treatments for diabetes and weight loss, ended sharply lower (-5.27%), weighed down by Friday’s announcement from Joe’s government Biden concerning a new list of 15 drugs, notably against cancer or diabetes, whose prices he will negotiate with pharmaceutical laboratories.

The semiconductor manufacturer Intel (+9.25%) benefited from press information according to which a company, whose name has not been revealed, would be ready to acquire the group.