(Bloomberg) — A rally in the world’s biggest technology companies led the broader stock market, while bond yields extended their slide amid Federal Reserve rate cut bets.
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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping made headlines on Friday when they spoke by phone, a conversation that could mend relations between the world’s biggest economies. The S&P 500 rose nearly 1 percent, with the benchmark index poised for its best weekly advance since the U.S. election week. The Nasdaq 100 gained more than 1.5%. Intel Corp. after website SemiAccurate said the company could be an acquisition target.
Trump, who is about to be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, has focused on major issues such as raising tariffs and cutting taxes. After winning the November election in a bet, equity funds said his proposal would boost corporate earnings at a time when the economy was strong. As stocks rumbled on signs of a hawkish Fed last month, the latest data showing slowing inflation fueled bets on a rate cut.
Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler said: “This week’s easing inflation data and a positive response to earnings from several financial firms. “Recent short-term oversold conditions and weak bullish sentiment are pushing major indexes to recover from their major gains.”
The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent. The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7 percent. Bloomberg’s gauge of “Magnificent Seven” megacaps rose 1.8%. Russell 2000 Top 1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell three basis points to 4.59 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3 percent. Bitcoin hovers around $102,000.
Trump’s return to the White House is likely to prevent a major selloff in U.S. stocks, Bank of America Corp. strategists say, as investors focus on his protectionist agenda and lower corporate taxes.
U.S. stocks are “protected by Trump” from the downside, strategist Michael Hartnett wrote in a note, though he doesn’t expect big gains, including a heavy focus on mega-cap tech stocks, valuations and investor positioning.
Corporate Highlights:
U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating General Motors Corp. over concerns that more than 870,000 full-size pickup trucks and SUVs may have engine failures.
Applied Materials Inc. and Lam Research Corp. were raised from sector weight to overweight on KeyBanc Capital Markets.
The United States plans to cut prices for Novo Nordisk A/S’s blockbuster Ozempic and Wegovi, the latest drugs to be targeted in legislation expected to save the government more than $200 billion over a decade.
JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. It reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat consensus expectations.
JetBlue Airways Corp. and Southwest Airlines Corp. were downgraded from neutral by Bank of America Corp., citing underweight exposure to corporate, premium and international routes.
Bumble Inc. founder Whitney Wolfe Heard will return to the dating-app brand as CEO, the company said in a statement Friday.
Toronto-Dominion Bank has cut the start date and executive pay for new CEO Raymond Chun by two months in the wake of a historic and costly money-laundering scandal.
Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Plc have held preliminary talks to combine their businesses to create a rival to longtime industrial titan BHP Group.
Some of the major activities in the markets are-
Shares
The S&P 500 was up 0.9 percent as of 9:31 a.m. New York time.
The Nasdaq 100 rose by 1.7%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7 percent.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose by 0.8%
The MSCI world index rose by 0.7%.
The Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.8%.
The 2000 Russell index rose 1 percent.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 percent.
The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0286
The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.2183
The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 155.77 per dollar
Crypto currencies
Bitcoin rose 2.3 percent to $102,474.64.
Ether rose 2.9 percent to $3,413.97.
Bonds
The 10-year Treasury yield fell two basis points to 4.59%
Germany’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 2.52%
Britain’s 10-year yield fell five basis points to 4.63%
Goods
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7 percent to $78.16 a barrel.
Spot gold fell 0.4% to $2,704.52 an ounce
This story was produced with the help of Bloomberg Automation.
–Assisted by Sujata Rao, Margarita Kirakosian and John Viljoen.
