MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks closed higher, led by tech stocks and banks. Yields on U.S. government debt were higher as traders weighed the inflationary impact of possible tariffs from a President Donald Trump. Oil fell as traders awaited a change in the U.S. administration. Gold rose as did the dollar.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

All three major indexes advanced, with each of the Magnificent Seven tech stocks logging gains. Chip stocks rose. Manufacturers climbed. Big banks continued their rally following bumper earnings reports earlier this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.8%, the S&P 500 was up 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%.

Earlier Friday, Chinese shares closed higher, likely buoyed by investor sentiment as China met its 2024 growth target in a challenging year. Semiconductor and tech hardware stocks led the gains.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.2% higher, the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.35%, and the ChiNext Price Index increased 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.3% higher as property and semiconductor stocks advanced.

Japanese stocks ended lower as concerns about borrowing costs continued ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting next week. Auto and game stocks led the declines. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.3%.

Stocks in Australia slipped as the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index declined 0.2%. The blue-chip S&P/ASX 20 Index, which includes the country's major banks and iron-ore miners, declined 0.5%.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 closed 1% higher, rounding out a strong weekly gain that edged it into positive territory for 2025. The NZX-50 rose 1.8% for the week and is up 0.2% since the start of the year.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures settled lower but scored a fourth straight week of gains after wider sanctions against Russia's energy industry tightened supply.

West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery fell 1% to settle at $77.88 a barrel, for a 1.7% weekly gain. March Brent crude declined 0.6% to $80.79 a barrel, tallying a 1.3% weekly advance.

Uncertainty remains over President-elect Donald Trump's moves on energy policy ahead of his Monday inauguration. "This is not just another year in commodities -- it's one poised on the knife edge of geopolitical influences and economic recalibrations," said Stephen Innes, of SPI Asset Management.

Some better-than-expected Chinese economic data contributed to early gains, while a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, approved by Israel's security cabinet, was seen reducing the risk premium.

Front-month January gold futures settled up 1.3% to $2,744.30 an ounce, diverging from the February contract ahead of President-elect Trump's inauguration -- which gave most commodities a lift in the session.

"We remain positive on gold heading into the new year but continue to monitor any potential policy changes out of the new U.S. administration, " said Trevor Yates, of Global X.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

EU, Mexico Secure New Trade Deal as Trump Presidency Looms

The European Union and Mexico secured a fresh trade deal on Friday before President-elect Donald Trump-who has threatened both regions with steep tariffs on exports-takes office next week.

The agreement, which still needs to be approved by governments on both sides, would see Mexico scrap the high tariffs it imposes on EU goods such as cheese and wine. The deal seeks to increase European exports in areas such as financial services and e-commerce, strengthen the supply chain of critical raw materials and encourage EU investment in Mexico. It will also give EU companies access to Mexican government contracts and vice versa.

"The EU and Mexico are already trusted partners. Now, we want to deepen our cooperation even further, strongly benefiting our people and economies," Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Friday. She added that exporters such as farmers and agri-food companies will benefit from new business opportunities under the agreement.

FTC Sues PepsiCo, Alleging It Gave Walmart Unfair Pricing Advantage

The Federal Trade Commission on Friday sued PepsiCo in a last-minute blitz of lawsuits before the end of the Biden administration, alleging that the beverage giant forced many consumers to pay higher prices by giving Walmart unfair pricing advantages.

The FTC, whose legal filing was sealed, said PepsiCo provided promotional pricing deals to a single "big-box" customer. Walmart was the recipient of those incentives, according to people familiar with the matter. The agency said PepsiCo didn't give the same pricing incentives to smaller retail outlets, which "led to inflated prices for American families."

PepsiCo disputed the allegations. Walmart declined to comment. Walmart is PepsiCo's largest retail customer. Including Walmart affiliates like Sam's Club, sales to Walmart represented 14% of PepsiCo's 2023 revenue.

Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Shutdown

WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal law requiring TikTok's Chinese owners to sell or shut down the social-media app by Jan. 19, siding with Congress's national-security concerns over the platform and its users' claim that the ban violates the First Amendment.

The ruling on Friday means the platform could go dark-at least temporarily-on Sunday, depriving millions of teenagers and other TikTok users of their daily fix of short-form videos that keep them glued to their phones.

EU Steps Up Probe of Elon Musk's X Ahead of Trump Inauguration

The European Commission has ramped up its investigation into Elon Musk's X social network after the tech mogul criticized European governments in recent weeks, and just days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.

The commission said Friday that it is asking the company for more information on any recent tweaks made to its algorithms and systems designed to display content to users. This is part of a sweeping probe into the social network the commission opened in December 2023 over concerns the platform is violating the Digital Services Act. The relatively new law forces tech companies to better vet the user content they host and tackle things like misinformation.

The EU's executive arm has come under mounting pressure to take on Musk and is looking into how he used the platform on Jan. 9 to broadcast a live conversation with Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Goldman Sachs Gives Solomon $80 Million to Stay

Goldman Sachs gave Chief Executive David Solomon an $80 million bonus to stay for five more years, ending any lingering questions about his grasp on the Wall Street giant.

Solomon had a bruising couple of years at Goldman that cast his longevity as CEO into doubt among many partners after taking over in 2018.

Solomon directed an aggressive expansion of the consumer-lending business, started by his predecessor, but the business has flopped and Goldman is exiting the sector with more than $7 billion in losses to date. The firm has seen an exodus of partners, in part from frequent reorganizations of its asset-management business under his direction. Even his hobby of DJing had drawn criticism and negative headlines, personalizing the drama at the bank.

Ozempic Among the Next Drugs Up for Medicare Price Negotiations

The U.S. government named 15 drugs that will be subject to the second round of price negotiations by Medicare, including Ozempic and Wegovy, the drugs at the center of the weight-loss craze.

The Biden administration said the drugs account for $41 billion in annual Medicare spending, and that price negotiations could result in significant savings. U.S. health officials selected the drugs because they account for high Medicare spending due to widespread use or high price tags.

"We have a chance to negotiate a better deal for the American people," said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. "We can try to save them once again billions of dollars."

Expected Major Events for Monday

04:00/MAL: Dec External Trade

04:30/JPN: Nov Revised Industrial Production

04:30/JPN: Nov Tertiary Industry Index

05:00/JPN: Dec Convenience Store Sales

08:30/HK: Dec Underemployment

08:30/HK: Dec Unemployment

09:59/CHN: People's Bank of China loan prime rate (LPR) announcement

16:00/NZ: Dec QV Nationwide Residential Property Values

21:00/SKA: Dec PPI

21:30/NZ: Dec BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index $(PSI.AU)$

21:45/NZ: Dec Electronic Card Transactions

Expected Major Events for Tuesday

08:00/TAI: Dec Export Orders

08:30/HK: Dec CPI

08:59/SKA: Jan Trade data - 1st 20 days of month

20:00/NZ: Dec REINZ Monthly Housing Price Index

20:00/NZ: Dec REINZ Residential Market Report

21:00/SKA: Jan Consumer Sentiment Index

21:45/NZ: 4Q CPI

00:00/AUS: Nov Westpac-Melbourne Institute Indexes of Economic Activity

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2025 16:30 ET (21:30 GMT)

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