S&P 500 hits second record high as Trump pushes for lower rates

S&P 500 hits second record high as Trump pushes for lower rates
S&P 500 hits second record high as Trump pushes for lower rates

The stock market rallied to record highs on Thursday after President Donald Trump called for lower interest rates and cheaper oil prices. The S&P 500 added 0.53%, notching an all-time intraday high for the second straight session and finishing at 6,118.71. This surpassed its prior all-time closing high of 6,090.27 recorded in early December.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 408.34 points, or 0.92%, to close at 44,565.07, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.22% to finish at 20,053.68. Thursday marked the fourth straight winning session for all three major indexes. Stocks gained momentum after Trump, in a virtual address to the World Economic Forum, demanded that interest rates drop immediately and urged Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices.

Short-term Treasury yields fell following Trump’s comments.

The stock market has also been positively influenced by excitement about potential tax cuts, deregulation under Trump, and signs of resilient economic growth. While tariffs remain a concern, investors have been pleased with the easing of these levies during Trump’s first days in the White House.

He really can’t control interest rates, but the market likes to hear that kind of stuff,” said Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist at the Blue Chip Daily Trend Report. “So far, the market does seem to like what Trump’s policies are going to be, so we’ll just have to see if there’s some follow-through.”

The fourth-quarter earnings season is also off to a strong start, with several big banks offering positive reports. However, some companies faced challenges, and stocks tumbled more than 8% on disappointing earnings reports.

The three major indexes concluded Thursday’s session in the green. The S&P 500 notched an all-time closing high by gaining 0.5%. The Dow rallied 0.9%, while the Nasdaq ticked higher by 0.2%.

Wall Street’s worries about stretched valuations might be unfounded despite a strong run in the artificial intelligence sector. William Blair analysts led by Jason Ader noted that the median forward price-to-earnings multiple of 32x for the six major public AI companies is up only 23% since December 2019, suggesting tangible growth in earnings power rather than speculative bubble territory.

Trump pushes for lower interest rates

Oracle’s shares are up nearly 15% this week after President Trump announced a partnership between Softbank and OpenAI to invest in artificial intelligence. The stock is on pace for its best week since December 2021, when shares surged more than 16%. Oracle has gained 11% since the start of 2025.

While the broader market is headed for solid week-to-date gains, energy stocks are struggling. The S&P 500 energy sector is down 2% this week, but it is on track for its worst weekly performance since the week ending Dec. 20, when it shed more than 5%.

The energy sector is also set to snap a four-week winning streak.Inn the latest American Association of Individual Investors surve, bullishness among individual investors rebounded to 43.4%y, the highest level since early December. The percentage of bearish investors fell to 29.4%, down from 40.6% in the previous survey.

Contrarian investors often view rising bullishness as a bearish sign, assuming that most investors have finished buying and have less cash available for new investments. Several companies made headlines in midday trading. Alcoa’s shares fell about 4% after CEO William Oplinger said that U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports would significantly increase the cost of aluminum.

Shares of Elevance Health rose 1.3% after the company beat fourth-quarter expectations, posting earnings of $3.84 per share on revenue of $45 billion. Shares of Electronic Arts tumbled nearly 17% in midday trading, marking the worst percentage drop for the stock since Oct. 31, 2008.

The video game publisher missed expectations for net bookings and provided a forecast below previous guidance. Investors closely monitor these developments as they adjust their strategies in response to market conditions and economic policies.

Maya Johnson

Maya is the editor-in-chief of KillerStartups.com. She provides value to early-stage entrepreneurs through content and her weekly newsletter. Reach her at [email protected]

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