S&P 500 opens little changed, heads for best week in a year after Trump win: Live updates

U.S. stocks were mostly flat on Friday as traders digested this week’s postelection rally and the latest Federal Reserve monetary policy moves.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell marginally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, climbing 100 points, or 0.2%.

All three of the major averages are on pace for strong weekly gains, thanks in large part to Wednesday’s huge rally in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victor. The S&P 500 is up about 4.4% and the Dow is higher by 4.2%. Both indexes are on track for their best week since November 2023. The Nasdaq is the outperforming even those moves, toting a 5.7% advance through Thursday’s close.

During Thursday’s trading session, the broad market index gained 0.7% to close at a new record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.5% and ended the session above 19,000 for the first time. Meanwhile, the 30-stock Dow was marginally lower. The three major averages all hit intraday record highs during the session.

Small cap stocks have also been red hot, with the Russell 2000 up more than 7% for the week through Thursday.

“Equities are eager to price in Trump’s domestic growth policies (via small-caps) and hopes for easier regulation relative to the Biden administration,” Barclays strategist Venu Krishna said in a note to clients.

“Whether these moves are sustainable remains to be seen; momentum is extending lofty gains as ‘winners keep winning’, and the sharp post-Election Day moves have pushed major gauges near (or into, in the case of [Russell 2000]) technically overbought territory,” Krishna added.

Investors generally view a Republican-controlled government as more favorable on expectations for deregulation, the potential for more mergers and acquisitions and proposed tax cuts. However, concerns over the large federal deficit and increased tariffs have also sparked concerns of an uptick in inflation.

On Thursday, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter point, in-line with the market’s expectations. Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted he is “feeling good” about the economy during a press conference.

However, “the path of Fed cuts is cloudier today than it was a week ago before the election,” said Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X ETFs.

“The market is signaling that a Trump administration would be good for growth and risk assets, but the combination of faster growth with new tariffs would be inflationary,” he added. “While the Fed feels the risks are balanced between stable prices and maximum employment, this could shift quickly increasing the risk to reaccelerating inflation.”