US stocks end higher as Trump becomes president

US markets closed on a higher note on the last day of the week after intraday volatility. The dollar, which has lost some momentum in recent weeks, was off 0.3 per cent against six major currencies. While stocks fell during Trump's speech, Friday's session marked the first time in more than 50 years that a new US President was welcomed by a rising market on his first day, according to data.

Standard and Poor's (S and P) 500 rising 6.2 per cent in total since the election can be reported as one of the best gains during presidential transition period. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed at 19827.25 with 0.48 per cent gains breaking its 5 days losing streak driven by huge gains in Procter and Gamble, Merck and IBM. S and P 500 too closed with moderate gains of 0.34 per cent at 2271.31. However, both Dow and S and P 500 posted their second straight weekly loss amid ambiguity about the policy decisions. Nasdaq closed with gains of 0.28 per cent at 5555.33.

In his speech, Donald Trump said US policy will be to buy American and hire American, reiterating what he had said many times during this campaign for the White House. Some investors said the comments reinforced concerns about potential protectionist trade policies. Indexes pared gains during his speech and ended off the highest levels of the day.