US stocks rise as Trump takes charge of Oval Office
In his inauguration address, President Donald Trump pledged to put ‘America first’.
NEW YORK: US stocks ended higher on Friday, as Wall Street meditated on President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech amid earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.85 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 19,827.25. The S& P 500 added 7.62 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 2,271.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 15.25 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 5,555.33, Xinhua news agency reported. US stocks posted solid gains after Trump won the presidency election as investors bet that he would pursue massive corporate tax cuts, deregulation, and infrastructure spending. In corporate news, shares of the Procter & Gamble Co. jumped 3.25 per cent to $87.45 apiece on Friday after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of IBM rose 2.24 per cent to $ 170.55 per share as the tech giant delivered quarterly results that beat market expectations. Shares of American Express Co. fell 0.64 per cent to $76.20 apiece after the US bank posted quarterly earnings shy of forecasts but revenues above estimates. In a weekly basis, all three major indices witnessed modest losses, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq going down 0.3 per cent, 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively. Trump was sworn in on Friday as the 45th President of the United States. In his inauguration address, Trump pledged to put “America first”, reigniting some worries of protectionist policies. But he did not touch on specific economic or trade policies. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first, Trump said. He said the new administration will rebuild infrastructures of the country by following “two simple rules: buy American and hire American”.