US stocks soar; corporate earnings, Trump’s inauguration in focus

Investing.com–US stocks rose Friday, on course for a positive week with the quarterly earnings season in full flow.

At 09:40 ET (14:40 GMT), the rose 305 points, or 0.7%, the gained 50 points, or 0.8%, and the climbed 260 points, or 1.4%.

The main Wall Street indices are on track to record a positive week, the first full trading week of 2025, after soft inflation data spurred bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further this year.

Trump’s inauguration looms

Investors remain confident, but are now awaiting the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20, amid heightened speculation over his plans to impose trade tariffs on major economies, particularly China.

“There are lingering concerns about the ‘day one’; measures, some of which are priced in, which could generate some volatility early next week,” said analysts at ING, in a note.

That said, Trump said earlier Friday, in a Truth Social post, that he had spoken on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, calling the call “a very good one for both China and the USA.”

“It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately,” said the president-elect. “We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”

Earnings start to ramp up

The focus also remains on the earnings season, after a string of positive bank earnings this week. A slew of major tech, industrials and consumer stocks are set to report earnings next week.

On Thursday, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) unveiled an uptick in earnings in the fourth quarter, while Bank of America’s (NYSE:) income for the period topped estimates. The figures came after major industry players like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:) (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) posted solid numbers on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, JB Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:) slumped after its fourth-quarter earnings missed expectations, while Schlumberger (NYSE:) stock rose after the oilfield services provider beat estimates for fourth-quarter profit, benefiting from higher demand for its drilling equipment and technology in North America and international markets.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:) also gained after the Spiegel magazine reported that German auto giant Volkswagen (ETR:) is considering ways to deepen its partnership with the US electric car maker.

Crude heads for weekly gain

Oil prices slipped lower Friday as traders banked some of the recent gains, but the market was still heading towards a fourth consecutive weekly gain, with the latest US sanctions on the Russian crude trade continuing to offer support.

By 05:50 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) dropped 0.6% to $77.36 a barrel, while the contract fell 0.7% to $80.73 a barrel. Both contracts have gained roughly 3% so far this week.

The Biden administration last week announced widening sanctions targeting Russian oil producers and tankers, leading some observers to predict possible supply disruptions and price increases.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)