NEW YORK, (MILLAT/APP/AFP) – Wall Street stocks hit records again Friday after President Trump’s promise to announce action soon on tax
cuts revived hopes for US growth policies under the new president.
European markets also finished modestly higher, while the Nikkei in Tokyo piled on 2.5 percent on a lower yen.
At a meeting Thursday with airline executives, Trump said he would release details of a “phenomenal” tax cut plan in the next two or three weeks.
The comments revived hopes of a pro-growth agenda from Washington that had seemingly taken a back-burner to controversial Trump trade and immigration stances in his early days in office.
All three major US indices surged to records Thursday in the hours after the news. The rally continued Friday, with all three indices again posting records.
“Yet again we see the magic of (Trump’s) words,” said Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets. “All the market needs
to set new records is to put the word ‘phenomenal’ next to taxes.”
The comments from Trump came amid rising impatience from investors, who have sought specifics on taxes and other growth plans.
A number of controversies have dominated news from Washington since Trump’s inauguration, including a bruising public war with Mexico over Trump’s promise to build a wall to prevent immigrants from illegally entering and the new president’s executive order on immigration that has
now been blocked by two US courts.
“Trump has started making the right noises again as far as markets are concerned, with Thursday’s promise of a ‘phenomenal’ tax announcement
in the coming weeks certainly hitting all the right notes,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda trading group.
“Investors have become a little apprehensive in recent weeks due to the unpredictable nature of Trump’s policies and the timing of the announcements which has taken the edge off moves we saw heading into year-end,” he said.
“The market moved on hype more than substance, comforted by the notion that the hype will ultimately translate into pro-growth, legislative substance,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
In other markets, oil prices rallied after the International Energy Agency said in a report that OPEC countries are largely complying with a landmark deal to reduce the global oil glut.
The dollar advanced against the euro and other currencies on expectations of US tax cuts.
– Key figures around 2200 GMT –
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New York – Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 20,269.37 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 2,316.10 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.3 percent at 5,734.13 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,258.75 points (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.2 percent at 11,666.97 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP less than 0.1 percent at 4,828.32 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,271.60
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.5 percent at 19,378.93 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.2 percent at 23,574.98 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,196.70 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0638 from $1.0658
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2485 from $1.2496
Dollar/yen: UP at 113.25 yen from 112.67 yen
Oil – Brent North Sea: $1.07 at $56.70 per barrel
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP 86 cents at $53.86 per barrel