By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Global stocks posted strong weekly gains on Friday, while U.S. Treasury yields fell as markets looked at newly-elected President Donald Trump’s likely policies and their impact on the U.S. economy, even as Bitcoin hovered around $100,000 threshold acted.
Traders are bracing for Trump’s agenda after he takes office in January, which is expected to include tariffs, tax cuts and deregulation. Trump has nominated senior officials in his administration and markets are awaiting his choice for Treasury Secretary.
All three Wall Street indexes ended higher, each posting weekly gains. Industrials, consumer discretionary, financials and consumer staples led gains, while communications services, utilities and technology stocks were the biggest losers.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:), the world’s most valuable company, ended with a loss of 3.2% after the artificial intelligence chipmaker reported strong quarterly results but mediocre sales forecasts.
They rose 0.97% to 44,296.51, rose 0.35% to 5,969.34 and rose 0.16% to 19,003.65.
The European stock index ended the week 1% higher, posting four straight weeks of losses. The MSCI index of shares around the world rose 0.33% to 854.22 and is up about 1.4% for the week.
“Nvidia’s earnings were very solid and the market traded a bit, but I don’t think it was as big an event as it could have been,” said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at SiebertNXT in New York. “So we’ve put that behind us and as we look at what else could drive the market this week… People are starting to think about what’s happened to the market since Trump was elected and some of the appointments he’s made made.”
U.S. 10-year bond yields fell 1.4 basis points to 4.418% as markets reassess future Federal Reserve rate cuts given expectations that some of Trump’s policies could be inflationary. The market now estimates a 53% probability that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points in December.
Bets that the Trump administration will take a lighter approach to regulation also pushed Bitcoin to the brink of $100,000 for the first time. The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 1.33% to $99,384.00. fell 1.59% to $3,295.40.
The euro fell to its lowest level in two years, while the dollar rose after data on business activity in each region was released. A gauge for the US manufacturing sector compiled by S&P Global rose to 55.3 this month, the highest level since April 2022. A similar gauge for the euro zone fell to a 10-month low of 48.1 in November.
The , which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies, rose 0.43% to 107.52, while the euro fell 0.56% to $1.0414, after falling to $1.0333, its lowest level since November 30 2022.
Oil prices rose about 1% to their highest level in two weeks, due to the growing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. futures rose 1.3% to settle at $75.17 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1.6% to $71.24.
Gold prices crossed the $2,700 threshold for the first time in two weeks, on track for the biggest weekly gain in more than a year. rose 1.37% to $2,706.39 per ounce. The US settled 1.4% higher at $2,712.20.
