On the world stock exchanges, share prices rose strongly last week, for the second time in a row, as investors were encouraged by better than expected business results of companies and the outlines of US President Donald Trump’s economic policy.
The Dow Jones gained 2.15 percent last week, to 44,424 points, while the S&P 500 rose 1.7 percent, to 6,101 points, and the Nasdaq index rose 1.65 percent, to 19,954 points.
During the week, the S&P 500 reached a record high, after Trump said in an address to participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he would ask OPEC to lower oil prices and central banks to lower interest rates. He also warned business leaders that they would face US tariffs on products if they were to manufacture them outside the US.
And while investors are wary of Trump’s statements on tariffs, “they like the idea of lower interest rates, as well as oil prices. Overall, the market is bullish as they hear more about Trump’s policies,” said Lindsey Bell, strategist at investment firm 248 Ventures.
However, the tariffs could increase inflationary pressures and slow the pace of interest rate cuts by the US central bank. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates at their current levels at next week’s meeting.
Share prices in the technology sector rose the most last week, following the news that OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle will form a joint venture and invest $500 billion in the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Better-than-expected quarterly business results of a number of companies also supported the market. For example, Netflix’s share price jumped more than 10 percent after the company reported record growth in the number of subscribers to its services last quarter.
And on most European stock exchanges, share prices rose last week. However, the London FTSE index weakened by 0.1 percent, to 8,502 points, but the Frankfurt DAX jumped 2.3 percent, to 21,394 points, and the Paris CAC 2.8 percent, to 7,927 points.
