NEW YORK: US stocks finished higher Friday, starting the Donald Trump presidency in the green, but the Dow & S&P 500 logged their second straight weekly decline as uncertainty about the new administration has lingered.
Equities ended off their highs of the session after Trump took the oath of office to become the nation’s 45th president and delivered an inaugural address that echoed the protectionist comments he had made throughout his campaign. While he called for measures to support American workers, he offered few additional details that could provide clarity to investors about his legislative priorities.
“Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families,” Trump said in the speech. “We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.48% closed up 94.85 points, or 0.5%, to 19,827.25, while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.34% climbed 7.62 points, or 0.3%, to 2,271.31 and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.28% added 15.25 points, or 0.3%, to 5,555.33.
The day’s gains were broad, with only two of the S&P 500’s primary 11 sectors down. The best performers were telecom and materials, both of which rose 0.9%.
Stocks rallied in the wake of Trump’s upset election win, with indexes hitting a series of records as investors bet that he would pursue massive corporate tax cuts, deregulation, and infrastructure spending, all of which are expected to accelerate economic growth and stoke inflation. However, the advances have stalled of late as market participants look for proof that the rise will be justified by policy actions.
“Trump has made it clear that as early as today, and certainly by Monday, we’ll see actions in terms of the executive orders that will set the tone for the administration and convey his priorities,” said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Boston.
In additional to the political news, traders looked at the latest round of corporate earnings, some of which indicated that equity valuations were supported by economic fundamentals.
For the week, the Dow and the Nasdaq are off 0.3%. The S&P 500 is down 0.2%. It is the second straight weekly decline for the Dow and the S&P.
