Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Day one
Stock futures rose Tuesday in the first trading day of Donald Trump’s second term as president. Markets were closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. U.S. stocks are coming off a strong week. The S&P 500 climbed 2.9%, the Dow rose 3.7% and the Nasdaq Composite ticked 2.5% higher. Investors will be watching Trump’s trade policy and other key pieces of his agenda, along with a few major earnings reports this week. Follow live market updates.
2. Trump takes office
Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds the Bible during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., Jan. 20, 2025.
Morry Gash | Via Reuters
Trump was sworn in Monday as the 47th U.S. president, and only the second to serve two non-consecutive terms. Speaking in the U.S. Capitol after frigid temperatures forced the ceremony indoors, Trump said he would bring a “golden age” for the U.S. He signed a flurry of executive orders, declared a national energy emergency, ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris climate accords and pardoned about 1,500 people charged in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Market watchers had the closest eye on Trump’s trade comments.
3. Tariffs ahead?
U.S. President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House on Inauguration Day in Washington, U.S., Jan. 20, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Trump suggested he could impose 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico as soon as Feb. 1. He did not say when he may implement threatened universal duties on all trading partners, or the higher levies on China that he proposed as a candidate. He did say he would consider using tariffs as leverage to try to secure a U.S. investor in TikTok, the social media app owned by China-based ByteDance. Tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China – the three largest U.S. trading partners – would have massive implications for the U.S. economy and could raise prices on a range of consumer goods and agricultural products.
4. Still ticking
TikTok briefly went dark over the weekend due to a U.S. law that banned the app unless it sold to a U.S. owner – only to come back online. The change came as Trump, who once championed a movement to bar the app over national security concerns, pushed to keep it active in the U.S. On Monday, he signed an executive order that effectively halted enforcement of the law for 75 days.
5. A flight of earnings
A handful of major companies will post earnings this week, led by airlines and Netflix. Here are the key reports to watch:
– CNBC’s Brian Evans, John Melloy, Dan Mangan, Kevin Breuninger, Spencer Kimball, Christina Wilkie, Annie Nova, Alex Harring, Yun Li, Jeff Cox, Melissa Repko, Michael Wayland, Gabrielle Fonrouge and Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.
