US stock market heads for best start for President Donald Trump

US stock market is heading for its best start for a new American president since Ronald Reagan was sworn in to power in 1985.

The benchmark S&P 500 was hovering near record high on Friday. The index is up over 2 per cent this week.

Investors’ sentiments got a boost after President Donald Trump talked up policies to bolster economic growth and lower taxes.

He also appeared to soften his stance toward tariffs on China.

President Trump has not said or done anything that has caused a bad reaction in financial markets, said market experts.

Trump told Fox News in an interview on Thursday evening his recent conversation with President Xi Jinping was friendly and he thought he could reach a trade deal with China.

"We have one very big power over China, and that's tariffs, and they don't want them, and I'd rather not have to use it, but it's a tremendous power over China," he said.

Market participants also digested the economic data released on Friday.

A report showed US consumer sentiment fell in January for the first time in six months.

Consumers expect prices will climb at an annual rate of 3.2% over the next five to 10 years, up from the 3% expected in December.

Existing-home sales picked up, while business activity moderated as growth in services cooled.

Stock indices

At 11:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 51.30 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 44,513.77, the S&P 500 gained 0.78 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 6,119.49 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 6.01 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 20,048.04.

• In currency markets, the US dollar dropped to a one-month low and was poised for its largest weekly slide since November 2023. The euro gained 0.8 per cent to $1.0499.
• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.64 per cent.
• In commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3 per cent to $74.42 a barrel. Spot gold added 0.8 per cent to $2,778.12 an ounce.
• In cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin climbed 2.4 per cent to $105,577.76 and Ether surged 4.5 per cent to $3,393.86.