Stock market today: S&P 500 racks up weekly gain ahead of Trump’s inauguration

Investing.com– The S&P 500 ended a strong week on a high Friday, as bullish bets on stocks continued just days ahead of President-elect Donald Trump inauguration on Monday, which marks the transfer of presidential power.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (21:00 GMT), the rose 334 points, or 0.8%, the gained 1%, and the climbed 1.5%. The S&P 500 ended the week more than 2% higher.

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.

Crypto stocks shine as Bitcoin rallies

Crypto-related stocks including MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:), Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:), Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:) were up sharply, supported by a jump in following reports that Trump is poised to issue a slew of executive orders including designating crypto as a policy priority.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)