Wall Street hit new records as Donald Trump began his second term as 47th U.S. president this week.
The S&P 500 index — as tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY — climbed above 6,100 points, surpassing its previous December peak and marking a second consecutive week of gains, fueled by a strong start to the fourth-quarter earnings season.
Tech stocks led the market again, driven by semiconductors’ momentum and a surge in artificial intelligence investments. Trump launched the Stargate project, aligning OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle Corp. ORCL to channel up to $500 billion over four years into AI infrastructure.
Shares of both Oracle and SoftBank-owned Arm Holdings plc ARM jumped 15% this week in response to the announcement.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, Trump vowed to make the U.S. the “world capital of artificial intelligence and crypto.” He also signed an executive order while fostering U.S. leadership in digital assets. Bitcoin BTC/USD soared to a record $109,000 at the start of the week, holding steady in a tight range thereafter.
Moderna Inc. MRNA emerged as the week’s top performer, skyrocketing 25% after securing a U.S. government contract to fast-track its bird flu vaccine development. Netflix Inc NFLX followed suit with a 15% surge after blockbuster fourth-quarter results.
In contrast, renewable energy stocks came under heavy selling pressure following the formal repeal of the Green New Deal and the removal of electric vehicle subsidies. First Solar Inc. FSLR took the brunt of the hit, tumbling double digits as investors priced in a policy-driven shift away from government-backed clean energy initiatives.
Apple Inc. AAPL was the big tech laggard of the week, missing out on the rally following analyst downgrades and warnings about weak iPhone sales in China.
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U.S. consumer confidence fell in January amid rising inflation worries linked to tariffs. According to the University of Michigan survey, consumers opted to buy in advance to avoid future price pressures, sustaining strong auto and retail sales.
Goldman Sachs warns that Trump’s potential tariff hikes could elevate consumer inflation expectations, complicating the Federal Reserve’s interest rate reduction plans. A universal 10% tariff might boost headline inflation by up to 1 percentage point, according to Goldman.
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