Wall Street Rallies As Inflation Fears Recede, Banks Smash Earnings, Bitcoin Reclaims $100,000: This Week In The Markets – Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

A benign December inflation report was all it took to ignite another strong rally on Wall Street, with major indices delivering their best weekly performance since the post-election surge in early November.

Heading into the week, markets were gripped by concerns over inflation and interest rates, pricing in just one rate cut by year-end while the 30-year Treasury yield hovered around 5%.

Fresh data showed inflation rising for the third straight month up to 2.9%, yet right in line with forecasts. A softer core reading — excluding food and energy — gave traders hope that the Fed might cut rates at least twice this year.

Adding fuel to the bull run, major banks kicked off the fourth-quarter 2024 earnings season with blowout results.

Financial stocks — as tracked by the Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF — jumped 6% for the week, their best rally since October 2023. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS led the charge among big players, surging 11% to hit record highs.

In commodities, oil briefly touched $80 per barrel before retreating after the approval of a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

In cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin BTC/USD continues to defy gravity, surpassing $100,000, fueled by optimism over crypto-friendly policies under the incoming Donald Trump administration.

Trump will officially take office as the 47th U.S. president on Monday.

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Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury secretary nominee, laid out his economic agenda before the Senate, emphasizing tax cuts, deregulation, energy expansion and tougher trade policies — particularly targeting China, Russia and Iran.

Reports suggest Trump is open to the idea of a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve, a move that could reshape fiscal policy and spark industrywide debate.

Ford Motor Co. F and General Motors Co. GM reported a sharp rise in electric vehicle sales, with the Mustang Mach-E and Cadillac Lyriq emerging as top sellers in 2024.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law forcing ByteDance to sell the TikTok app by Jan. 19 over national security concerns. Trump could attempt to roll back the ban after taking office.

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