4:10pm: Stocks rally on Trump’s return
Stocks neared new records as investors weighed up Trump’s first moves as president.
The Dow added more than 500 points or 1.2% to close out the day at 44,025 points, the S&P 500 added 0.9% at 6,049 points and the Nasdaq added 0.6% at 19,756 points.
2:35pm: Netflix earnings on deck
Investor attention will soon turn to Netflix's latest earnings report, due after Tuesday's closing bell.
Wall Street estimates Netflix's Q4 earnings per share at $4.20 and revenue at $10.122 billion, compared to the company's guidance of $4.23 EPS and $10.128 billion in revenue.
Shares of Netflix traded up 0.7% at $864 ahead of its earnings.
12:45pm: Dow leads gains
The three major stock indexes traded higher in the early afternoon as investors weighed up a slew of potentially market-moving changes being driven by the new Trump Administration as it reverses Biden-era policies.
The Dow added 1%, the S&P 500 was up 0.8% and the Nasdaq was up 0.6%.
Trump’s policies have taken center stage on Tuesday, IG senior technical analyst Axel Rudolph commented.
"President Trump's executive orders and possible 25% US tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada as soon as 1 February provoked a sharp sell-off in the Mexican Peso towards an over three-year low,” he said.
“US stocks rose while Treasury yields slid further and the US dollar gave back most of its overnight gains.”
11:35am: Canadian inflation down in December
Inflation in Canada fell to 1.8% on an annual basis in December, with the federal government’s GST break contributing to declines in prices for restaurant food, alcohol and children’s clothes, Statistics Canada has revealed.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was down from a 1.9% increase in November and a 2% increase in October. The CPI excluding food increased by 2.1% in December.
Amid the Goods and Services Tax (GST) break, with some provinces also waiving Harmonized Sales Taxes (HST), consumers saw a 1.6% year-over-year decline in restaurant food.
Alcohol prices decreased by 1.3% in December, compared to a 1.9% increase in November.
9.49am: Stocks open higher, but Apple weighs
US stocks opened higher almost across the board, with the small cap Russell 2000 leading the way as initial moves for the Nasdaq were in whipsaw fashion after the long weekend.
The broad benchmark of the S&P 500 was up 0.4% to 6,022.71 in initial trading, though still a little way from last year's all-time high of just under 6,100.
Small-caps were the early standout, with the Russell index climbing 1.4%, followed by the Dow Jones's 0.75% rise.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%
Biggest gainers on the S&P were Moderna Inc, up 7.2%, followed by Charles Schwab, 3M, Intel, Carnival and Warner Bros.
Apple was down 3.5% as the most notable faller, with Goldman Sachs retreated 2.2% and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) tumbled 7.9%.
8.45am: Will there be any crypto from the White House?
Bitcoin and the new Trump meme-coin both fell overnight after there was a distinct absence of cryptocurrency details mentioned in Trump’s first day back in office.
Bitcoin receded from its all-time high of over US$108,700, scored before the swearing-in ceremony in the Capital yesterday, to below US$101K come Tuesday.
Trump’s own token, $Trump took a beating in the meantime, dropping 22.4% to US$38.27.
7.40am: Stock markets heading higher after long weekend
US stock markets are predicted to open in a positive mood following the long weekend and the inauguration of Donald Trump as President.
Futures markets suggest the S&P 500 will open 0.4% higher, retracing steps towards last month's all-time high, with futures for both the tech-powered Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones pointing to rises of around 0.45%.
Futures for the small cap Russell 2000, one of the big winners since Trump's election victory, is up almost 0.6%.
Oil and gold and bitcoin, which had all been ticking higher in the run-up up to Trump's White House return, are all retreating slightly.
"US futures were screaming higher at 8 pm last night, then faded overnight and are now once again up substantially," says market analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone Wealth, "all as the new administration takes hold and Donny promises a ‘new Golden Age’.
"Look, in the end, investors, traders and algo’s will be keenly focused on whether or not he can follow thru on all of those campaign promises or whether or not Congress will get in his way because the next move in asset prices will be driven by what happens next."
David Morrison at Trade Nation noted that stock indices rallied and the dollar sold off yesterday as Trump had "little to say on tariffs" but when he later said he was considering 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico from 1 February, the dollar bounced, and the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso came under selling pressure, as did the euro.
After last week saw some positive earnings reports, this week sees some of the smaller regional banks report and today streaming giant Netflix Inc will release its fourth quarter numbers after the close.
Apple Inc sales are set to fall almost 2% after sales of iPhones in China fell 18.2% in the December quarter and a downgrade from Jeffries.
Huawei overtook the US giant to become the country’s top smartphone brand, according to Counterpoint Research, with previous leader Apple slipping to third place.