By US stocks were higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high for the first time since early December, with the latest all-time high fueled by comments from President Donald Trump during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The benchmark index closed at 6,118, eclipsing the S&P 500’s record close of 6,090 on December 6.
Stocks gained after Trump made comments advocating for lower oil prices and interest rates.
In a video speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday, Trump said he would “demand that interest rates drop immediately.” The president also said he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to reduce oil prices.
Oil prices fell after the comments, while the 10-year US Treasury yield increased. The key bond yield rose four basis points to 4.646%
Trump told reporters on Thursday that he would consider talking to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell about interest rates, and that he would expect the Fed to listen to him on his views on monetary policy.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Thursday:
- S&P 500: , 6,118.71, up 0.53%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 44,565.07, up 0.92% (408.34 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 20,053.68, up 0.22%
On the data front, investors digested initial jobless claims on Thursday, which ticked up slightly higher from the previous week’s reading to 223,000 from 217,000. That was slightly higher than economist estimates of 221,000.
Top of mind for investors this week and in the coming weeks are fourth-quarter earnings results.
With 14% of S&P 500 companies having reported results so far, 78% are beating profit estimates by a median of 6%, according to data from Fundstrat.
The big earnings show will begin next week, when mega-cap tech companies, including Apple, Meta Platforms, and Tesla set to report results.
Investors are also bracing for the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week. While markets expect the central bank to leave rates unchanged, commentary from Fed officials could move markets if they indicate any change in the path of interest rates relative to what markets are pricing in for this year.
Here’s what else happened today:
- A few whales and a bunch of new retail traders piled into the $Trump meme crypto coin.
- Inflation could drive bond yields to 20-year highs and shock the stock market, Larry Fink said.
- 5 market charts explain Donald Trump’s presidency so far.
- Here’s how to navigate what could be the most confusing earnings season in a long time.
- Sell-off risk looms over crypto amid lack of policy announcements from Trump.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 1.60% to $74.23 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was lower by 1.43%, at $77.87 a barrel.
- Gold declined 0.33% to $2,761.70 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield jumped 3 basis points to 4.644%.
- Bitcoin declined 0.43% to $103,222.
