US equities gain as tech stocks add to Trump bump

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The US S&P 500 hit a new intraday high on Wednesday after bumper Netflix results added fuel to a rally driven by a wave of US President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy announcements.

The US blue-chip index rose as much as 0.9 percent by midday in New York, surpassing the previous intraday high set in early December, reaching 6,100 points for the first time. It later gave up some of those gains to close 0.6 percent higher.

Last week, the S&P 500 posted its best gains in five sessions since Trump won the election.

Shares of Netflix, whose fourth-quarter earnings overnight released analysts’ expectations, rose 9.7 percent, pushing other technology stocks higher. Oracle shares jumped 6.8 percent, and Microsoft shares rose 4.1 percent after they joined other technology giants, including OpenAI, in announcing plans for a new comprehensive American artificial intelligence project.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3 percent to come within striking distance of an intraday high in mid-December.

Wednesday’s gains come as Trump used his first three days in office to threaten to impose new tariffs on US allies while promising to end the period of American “regression.”

Expected cuts in corporate tax rates and financial deregulation added to investor optimism a week after some of the country’s largest banks reported sharply higher profits due to a rebound in deal-making and trading.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index also hit its highest levels on Wednesday as concerns about US tariffs eased and investors bought cheaper European stocks after strong corporate earnings.

The broad European index rose as much as 0.9 percent to a record high of 530.55, supported by gains by some of Europe’s largest companies such as Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and German Adidas.

It closed 0.4 percent higher after giving up some of its gains.

Frankfurt’s DAX added 1 percent – after also hitting a new high – led by a 6 percent gain for Adidas after its strong full-year results.

Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management, said there was “an environment full of risks.” [was] “Lifting all boats, especially the weakest,” helped by other factors, including concerns about US tariffs being eased slightly.

Despite repeated threats, Trump has yet to impose new tariffs on goods exported to the United States from the bloc.

“There is some comfort in the view that Trump is softer than the market thinks,” said Emmanuel Cao, an analyst at Barclays.

“the [European] He said that the market is not afraid of Trump anymore because he gives the impression that he is trying to negotiate.

Dot line chart showing Stoxx Europe 600 index hits record high

London’s FTSE 100 index also hit a new intraday record before pulling back and closing flat.

This rise came after a Bank of America survey of European fund managers this week showed that investors raised their allocations to European stocks as concerns grew about high valuations on Wall Street.

Only 19 per cent of fund managers were “overweight” US stocks in January, down from a record 36 per cent the previous month. The bank said the shift was the largest shift from US stocks to euro zone stocks in nearly a decade.

Trump said on Tuesday that his administration is discussing imposing 10% tariffs on Chinese imports as early as next month. He revealed on Monday that he would impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada on February 1.

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2025-01-22 21:47:00
#equities #gain #tech #stocks #add #Trump #bump

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