Daily summary: strong earnings season and Trump boost stock indices 🖋️

US indices closed today’s session with moderately positive sentiment. Gains were primarily driven by technology companies, particularly those in the semiconductor sector. Investor attention remains focused on yesterday's decisions by Donald Trump's new administration, including the announcement of the Stargate project.

The US500 index posted a “modest” 0.60% gain to 6130 reaching new all-time highs. The technology-heavy US100 index rose 1.10% to 21400 points. On the other hand, the US2000 index struggled, losing 0.50% to close at 2320 points.

Procter & Gamble (PG.US) exceeded second-quarter earnings estimates, fuelled by increasing demand for household products. Shares of the consumer goods giant rose nearly 2.5% today.

Pharmaceutical and medical company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.US) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2024 results, although profits were slightly lower compared to last year’s levels.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index reached record highs, led by luxury and European tech companies benefiting from Trump’s AI investment plans.

The Japanese yen weakened against most G7 currencies. The USDJPY pair climbed above 156.500 yen, posting an intraday gain of nearly 0.7%. Meanwhile, the Polish zloty strengthened in Europe, reaching its highest level against the euro in five years.

Gold gained nearly 0.5% today, breaking above key resistance levels marked by local highs near $2720 per ounce. This extended the metal's technical upward trend.

In the energy market, WTI crude oil fell by about 0.50% to $75.50 per barrel. In contrast, NATGAS stood out positively, surging by 4.40%. ERCOT, the grid operator in Texas, announced today that Texas ports resumed operations following the Enzo snowstorm.

The cryptocurrency market saw a slight decline in sentiment, despite Bitcoin trading above $100,000. At the time of publication, Bitcoin and Ethereum were down 1.60%, trading at $104,500 and $3270, respectively. However, the total altcoin market capitalization grew by 0.30% to $1.07 trillion.

Fundamentally, significant developments are underway in the cryptocurrency sector. Mark T. Uyeda, the new acting SEC chair, announced the formation of a task force on cryptocurrencies. The task force aims to create clear and comprehensive regulatory frameworks for digital assets, with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce leading the group.