S&P 500 ekes out intraday record before ending | Finance news

Main U.S. stock indexes slipped to interrupt their four-session successful streak, however they nonetheless managed to notch their second consecutive weekly gain after President Donald Trump softened his tone on tariffs, and referred to as for decrease rates of interest and cheaper oil in his first week back within the White Home.

Trump recommended 25% duties on Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1, which is later than his prior pledge to provoke tariffs on his first day. He additionally talked about tariffs of solely 10% on all Chinese language imports, which might be significantly decrease than the 60% he proposed on the marketing campaign path.

“This has left traders with the sensation that not solely are his tariff plans doubtless decrease down on the precedence record, however they might finish up being far much less aggressive than initially feared,” said Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury.

Further fueling stock gains, Trump told world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday he would demand lower interest rates and ask Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries to cut the cost of oil. Oil fell 0.09% to $74.55 per barrel.

The broad S&P 500 ended down 0.29%, or 17.47 points, to 6,101.24, below its record close on Thursday of 6,118.71 and intraday record of 6,128.18 reached near the open. The blue-chip Dow fell 0.32%, or 140.82 points, to 44,424.25, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched lower 0.5%, or 99.38 points, to 19,954.30. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 4.617%.

Although Trump said he would “demand” lower interest rates, the Federal Reserve is in charge of monetary policy and generally works independently within government.

The Fed’s slated to meet next week and make a policy announcement on Wednesday. After a string of strong data, including a blowout December jobs report, almost no one expects the Fed to lower rates, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool that tracks what the market thinks are the odds of a rate move.

The Fed’s short-term benchmark fed funds target is 4.25% to 4.5%.

With tariffs on the back burner of investors’ minds for now, they can turn their attention back to corporate news, especially earnings. Some of the day’s top company news includes:

• Verizon’s earnings in the last three months of last year beat analysts’ expectations. The wireless provider also saw its best postpaid phone subscriber growth in five years, surprising analysts. Shares closed up nearly 1%.

• Novo Nordisk shares rallied about 8.5% on positive early-stage results for its once weekly amycretin obesity drug.

• Twilio issued a stronger-than-expected earnings outlook, and its shares jumped 20%

• Texas Instruments warned its first-quarter profits would miss analysts’ forecasts as it contends with inventory buildup in its key automotive and industrial markets. Shares ended down 7.5% for its worst day since March 2020.

• CSX shares declined nearly 3% after the transport company said its fourth-quarter results dropped due to sharp declines in coal and fuel surcharge revenue.

• Intuitive Surgical stock slumped 4.4% for its worst day since October 2023 after the company cut its gross profit margin outlook.

• Last night, Boeing warned of a larger-than-forecast fourth-quarter loss due to a prolonged strike, charges related to U.S. government projects and expenses linked to a slew of job cuts. Shares shed 1.37%.

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