Stocks closed at higher Wednesday, as investors continued to ride a momentum wave tied to the flurry of new policy aims and tariff hints from President Donald Trump.
The S&P 500 gained 0.61% after hitting an intraday record of 6,100.81, exceeding the last milestone touched in December before the market pullback, CNBC reported, and closed at 6,086.37, slightly below its all-time closing high.
Updated at 11:59 AM EST
New highs
The S&P 500 topped the 6,100 point mark for the first time on record, rising 50 points, or 0.84%, to extend its 2025 advance to just under 4%.
"The stock market's 'January effect' is taking shape so far, with stocks performing strongly throughout the month, and the S&P 500 now firmly above the key 6,000 mark, which it first crossed back in November," said John Creekmur, chief investment officer at Creekmur Wealth Advisors in Morton, Illinois.
"Investors are now more focused on earnings and hopes for tax cuts and deregulation from the new Trump administration, and less so about worries of fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts this year," he added.
BREAKING: The S&P 500 has officially crossed above 6100 as is now trading at a new all time high. pic.twitter.com/mx3sBxTjPH
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) January 22, 2025
Updated at 11:29 AM EST
Surge pricing
Netflix shares added around $45 billion in market value this morning as investors chased the streaming giant's stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings report amid a host of analysts upgrades.
The group added nearly 19 million new subscribers over the final three months of last year, and unveiled plans to boost its U.S. and Canada pricing tiers as it continues to invest in live sports and events.
"We think premium plan price increases will drive higher revenue with best-in-class content," said CFRA analyst Kenneth Leon. "Its operating margin for 2024 expanded significantly to 26.7%, up from 20.6% in 2023, and guides 29% in 2025."
"Netflix should double its advertising revenue in 2025 and continue its foray into gaming and sporting events," added Leon, who lifted his price target by $150 to $1,125 per share.
Related: Analysts race to overhaul Netflix stock price target after Q4 earnings
Updated at 9:37 AM EST
Green open
The S&P 500 was marked 32 points, or 0.53%, higher in the opening minutes of trading. The Nasdaq powered 212 points, or 1.07%, higher following the Trump announcement of an AI joint venture featuring SoftBank and Oracle.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 70 points while the midcap Russell 2000 slipped 5 points, or 0.23%.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Jan 22, 2025)$SPY +0.48% 🟩$QQQ +0.92% 🟩$DJI +0.26% 🟩$IWM -0.22% 🟥 pic.twitter.com/1ZAZf48C9O
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) January 22, 2025
Updated at 8:48 AM EST
Procter & Gamble up after Q2 report beats estimates
Procter & Gamble (PG) shares jumped after the consumer brands group saw solid gains in U.S. markets drive a stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings report.
New product launches and a marketing drive helped overall sales rise 2% from the year-earlier period to $21.88 billion, topping Wall Street forecasts. Overall earnings were also 2 cents ahead of consensus at $1.88 a share.
“The P&G team delivered an acceleration in organic sales growth, core EPS growth and strong cash return to shareowners in the second quarter,” said CEO Jon Moeller. “Our first-half results keep us on track to deliver within our guidance ranges on all key financial metrics for the fiscal year.
Procter & Gamble shares were last marked 3.1% higher in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $166.60 each.
Respectable P&G Q: 100bp acceleration in sales to +3% on volume. Led by premium beauty (SKII bottoming in China) & better trends in fam/baby/fem care. Non-food staples not seeing consumer price pushback unlike food & solid by category/regions. $PG $UN $CL $XLP $XLY $WMT pic.twitter.com/NIJUbaUb7Q
— Rahul Sharma (@Retail_Guru) January 22, 2025
Updated at 7:07 AM EST
J&J tops Wall Street expectations
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares edged higher in premarket trading after the drugmaker posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings powered by revenue from its cancer treatments.
J&J sees 2025 sales in the region of $90.9 billion to $91.7 billion, just under Wall Street forecasts, but also sees earnings ahead of estimates at between $10.75 and $10.95 per share.
“As a healthcare company, with a disease-centric approach, we are improving the standard of care in a broad range of diseases with high unmet need, including multiple myeloma, lung cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and heart failure," said CEO Joaquin Duato.
Johnson & Johnson shares were marked 0.44% higher in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $148.80 each.
Johnson & Johnson, $JNJ, Q4 FY24 Results:
— EarningsTime (@Earnings_Time) January 22, 2025
🔴 -0.1% Pre-Market ($147.92)
📊 Adj EPS: $2.04 🟢
💰 Revenue: $22.52B 🟢
📈 Net Income: $3.43B
🔍 Innovative Medicine sales up 7.5% operationally excl. COVID-19 vaccine. pic.twitter.com/aOswVUnI5M
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended firmly higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.88% and reclaiming the 6,000 point mark amid a pullback in Treasury yields and optimism over Trump's focus on deregulation, focused tariff strategies and the prospect of solid corporate earnings into the fourth-quarter reporting season.
Tech stocks are likely to pace early gains in the Wednesday session, however, following the unveiling of a new AI joint venture called Stargate, which will include an initial $100 billion investment from SoftBank, Oracle (ORCL) and OpenAI.
The move followed Trump's decision to rescind an executive order from former President Joe Biden that called for a more careful approach to AI expansion, focusing on clean energy usage and guardrails that required safety and transparency.
Nvidia (NVDA) , Oracle and Palantir (PLTR) were firmly higher and active in premarket trading, with Intel (INTC) , Broadcom (AVGO) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) all posting solid early gains.
Netflix (NFLX) shares were also on the move, rising 14.22% in the premarket to indicate an opening bell price of $993.34. A better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings report included record revenue and subscriber additions.
That's helping lift Nasdaq futures, which are now pricing in an opening bell gain of around 185 points at the start of trading, with the S&P 500 called 27 points higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed at the highest level since December 11 last night, is called 75 points higher.
Related: Analyst reworks Nvidia stock price target on Blackwell demand forecast
In the bond market, benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields were holding at 4.568% heading into the start of the New York trading session, with a focus on the auction of $13 billion in new 20-year bonds later in the session.
The U.S. dollar index, meanwhile, was marked 0.26% lower against a basket of six global currencies following Trump's reference to a smaller-than-expected 10% tariff on imported goods from China.
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 came within a whisker of printing an all-time intraday record. It was last marked 0.62% higher on the session, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.34% in London.
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Overnight in Asia, SoftBank's best gain since July, linked to its placement in the Stargate AI venture, helped lift the Nikkei 225 1.58% into the close of trading in Tokyo.
Broader stocks in the region were also higher, with the MSCI ex-Japan index rising 0.13%, although stocks in China were muted by Trump's tariff reference and the prospect of U.S. import levies put in place on Feb. 1.
Related: Veteran fund manager issues dire S&P 500 warning for 2025
