04:54 PM EST, 01/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed higher Tuesday, while oil prices declined as markets digested President Donald Trump's initial agenda items.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 44,025.8, while the S&P 500 gained 0.9% to 6,049.2. The Nasdaq Composite increased 0.6% to 19,756.8. Barring energy, all sectors closed higher, led by industrials.
US markets were closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Trump's inauguration ceremony was held Monday. He outlined various agenda items for his administration, including higher tariffs and stricter immigration restrictions, according to Stifel.
"While the administration is widely expected to follow through on increasing the burden on foreign exporters, the use of tariffs is likely to be implemented more slowly than previously anticipated or at least in a more tactical manner in order to secure better trade deals or cooperation on ending illegal immigration or to deter military conflict, as opposed to implementing a 'one-size-fits-all' strategy," Stifel said in a note to clients.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 2.3% to $76.09 a barrel Tuesday.
"In line with his election promises, Trump declared a national energy emergency and set out a general policy direction aimed at accelerating domestic oil and gas supply, immediately revoking former President Joe Biden's pause on new liquefied natural gas permitting," Rystad Energy said in a report.
The US 10-year yield fell 3.5 basis points to 4.58%, while the two-year rate was little changed at 4.28%.
In company news, 3M ( MMM ) logged better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, while expecting earnings to be higher in 2025 than the previous year. The industrial conglomerate's shares jumped 4.2%, the top gainer on the Dow.
Prologis ( PLD ) was among the best performers on the S&P 500, up 7.1%, after the logistics real estate investment trust's fourth-quarter core funds from operations surpassed market expectations.
Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA ) shares slumped 9.2%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500. The drugstore chain is facing a lawsuit by the US Department of Justice over its alleged improper dispensing of opioids.
Apple ( AAPL ) was the worst Dow performer and the second-worst on the Nasdaq, down 3.2%, as Jefferies and Loop Capital downgraded the stock.
Separately, Bloomberg News reported that the technology giant's iPhone sales declined around 18% in China in the December quarter, according to an independent research firm.
In economic news, US home prices in December recorded their biggest annual increase in almost a year, with all 50 of the most populous metropolitan areas tracked by Redfin (RDFN) seeing year-over-year gains for the first time since May 2022, the real estate brokerage said in a report.
Gold rose 0.3% to $2,755.80 per troy ounce, while silver advanced 1.1% to $31.49 per ounce.