On the 29th, marking the 100th day of Donald Trump's second administration, the New York Stock Exchange started with a steady rise in the flat zone.
At 10:35 a.m. on that day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a group of blue-chip stocks, recorded a rise of 133.47 points (0.33%) to 40,361.06 compared to the previous session. The large-cap benchmark Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose by 3.48 points (0.06%) to 5,532.23, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index showed an increase of 14.80 points (0.09%) to 17,380.94.
The Dow and S&P 500 indexes have been steadily rebounding for six consecutive trading days, while the Nasdaq index, after rising for four straight days, fell and then rebounded again in one day.
However, the current Dow index is more than 10% lower than its all-time high (45,073.63 on Dec. 4 last year), the S&P 500 index is also more than 10% lower than its peak (6,144.43 on Feb. 19), and the Nasdaq index is approximately 14% lower than its peak (20,204.58 on Dec. 16 last year). The market views this as being in a correction zone since it is more than 10% below the peak.
On that day, Minister Besant noted during an economic policy briefing commemorating the 100th day of President Trump's inauguration, "The responsibility for eliminating the U.S.-China tariffs lies with China," stating that the bomb tariffs both countries have laid are unsustainable. He further mentioned, regarding the recent weakening of various psychological indicators in the U.S., "Having worked in the finance and investment industry for 35 years, I learned to pay attention to hard data (real indicators) while ignoring soft data," adding, "Hard data such as employment and consumer spending are coming out quite positively."
Minister Besant also said, "Over the past 100 days, individual investors have remained stable while institutional investors showed panic symptoms," adding, "Individual investors trust President Trump." He continued, "President Trump has played a major role in lowering mortgage rates and energy prices, including gasoline, during the 100 days since his inauguration," and stated that further declines are anticipated.
The consumer confidence index for April released by the non-profit private economic research organization Conference Board (CB) recorded 86.0 (1985=100), lower than the market expectation (87.5). It fell by 7.9 points from the previous month (93.9), marking the lowest level since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTs) published by the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of job openings in March was 7,192,000, the lowest level in six months since September last year (7,103,000), falling short of market expectations (7.48 million).
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the trade deficit in goods for March amounted to $162 billion, an increase of 9.6% from the previous month's $147.8 billion. This surpassed market expectations ($146 billion) and marked a return to an increasing trend after two months.
Shares of General Motors (GM), the largest U.S. automotive corporation, fell more than 2% after announcing first-quarter results ahead of the market opening. Although GM's performance exceeded market expectations, analysts cited the re-evaluation of annual guidance (earnings outlook) and the temporary suspension of the additional stock buyback plan due to the effects of tariffs as reasons for the stock decline. However, the Trump administration indicated it would ease the tariff burden on automobiles and related parts.
Global beverage corporation Coca-Cola posted first-quarter results that exceeded market expectations in both revenue ($11.22 billion) and EPS ($0.73), leading to a less than 1% increase in share price. Coca-Cola maintained its annual guidance despite tariff uncertainties.
Large pharmaceutical company Pfizer achieved improved earnings thanks to cost-cutting efforts, with shares rising over 3%. Pfizer's first-quarter revenue ($13.72 billion) fell short of market expectations ($13.91 billion), but the adjusted EPS ($0.92) exceeded expectations ($0.66).
Among the large tech stock group known as the 'Magnificent 7' (M7), Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta (the parent company of Facebook) opened strong, while Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Tesla, and Amazon opened weak. Microsoft and Meta are expected to announce their earnings on the 30th, while Apple and Amazon will also release their results within this week.
According to financial information provider FactSet, 36% of S&P 500 constituents have reported first-quarter results so far, with 73% of them exceeding Wall Street expectations. This is slightly below the five-year average of 77%.
Meanwhile, European stock markets also showed a joint upward trend on that day. The pan-European index STOXX 600 rose by 0.36%, Germany's DAX index by 0.71%, and the UK's FTSE index by 0.51%.
International oil prices are on a downward trend. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery fell by 2.05% to $60.78 per BARREL, while the June delivery price for Brent crude, the global benchmark, declined by 1.99% to $64.55 per BARREL.