Incoming President Donald Trump will give the S&P 500 an Inauguration Day present, electing to put new tariffs on hold. Instead, Trump is expected to direct federal agencies to evaluate U.S. trade policies and fix shortcomings, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. S&P 500 futures rose and the U.S. dollar fell on the news.
The Trump tariffs surprise is part of the whirlwind of activity that Trump is stirring up as he hits the ground running. Trump has said he will sign close to 100 executive orders on day one, blowing away President Biden’s record of 17. Trump signed the first few orders at a desk in the Capitol before heading to lunch with lawmakers.
Other Trump executive orders are expected to give TikTok a reprieve, ease regulation of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and lift energy restrictions. Many of the executive orders could have implications for Wall Street, including specific companies such as Tesla (TSLA), Cheniere Energy (LNG) and Meta Platforms (META).
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Stocks Surge Into Trump 2.0; Viking Holdings, ServiceNow, Amazon.com In Focus
3:33 p.m. ET
Panama Responds To Trump
President José Raul Mulino released a statement rejecting “in its entirety” Trump’s inaugural statement about the Panama Canal, including his intent to take it back.
“For 25 years, without interruption, we have managed and expanded it responsibly to serve the world and its commerce, including the United States.”
Mulino said that dialogue should be undertaken to resolve concerns “without undermining our right, total sovereignty and ownership of our canal.”
International relations experts say that, contrary to Trump’s claim, China doesn’t operate the canal, but does operate ports at both ends of the canal.
1:35 p.m. ET
Trump Talks Pardons
At a luncheon speech, President Trump is heaping scorn on former Rep. Liz Cheney and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, who along with members of President Biden’s family received last-minute pardons from the outgoing president.
Biden’s precedent to protect them from prosecution by the Trump Justice Department is being cited by Republican officials in response to questions about expected Trump pardons of Jan. 6 rioters.
12:41 p.m. ET
Trump Ends Inaugural Address
Trump said that a strong U.S. will end all wars, though there was no specific mention of Russia and Ukraine. Bitcoin didn’t merit a mention.
The Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump previously compared to the Manhattan Project, got just one line. However, DOGE head Elon Musk cheered Trump’s call to “plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.”
Trump also doubled-down on his recent comment that he wants to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
12:35 p.m. ET
Panama Canal: ‘We’re Taking It Back”
Trump said the Panama Canal is a gift that “should never have been made.” He said U.S. ships are being overcharged, including of the U.S. Navy. Now, Trump says, China is operating the canal.
“We didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama and we’re taking it back,” Trump said.
12:30 p.m. ET
Trump Inauguration: External Revenue Agency
Trump reaffirms tariff plans, saying there will be “massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury.” Today’s delay seems to be just that.
12:26 p.m. ET
Drill, Baby, Drill
Trump confirms he will boost energy production and exports and end the “EV mandate,” penalties on automakers that produce fleets with below-target fuel efficiency.
12:23 p.m. ET
National Emergency At The Southern Border
Trump says he will use the military to stop the “invasion” at the border.
“We will begin the process of returning millions and millions or criminal aliens” to their home countries.
He said he’ll invoke a law from 1798 to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks.
12:20 p.m. ET
Trump Nods To MLK Jr.
“We will make his dream a reality.”
12:15 p.m. ET
Inaugural Address: Best Days Ahead
Trump’s positive tone quickly swerved into a damning assessment of where the country stands as he takes office.
Trump calls his election a mandate “to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal.”
12:03 p.m. ET
Trump Inauguration: Oath Of Office Taken
We have a new President.
11:30 a.m. ET
Trump Tariffs On Hold
Trump apparently has backed off his threat to impose a 10% additional tariff on China, along with 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, on his first day back in office, citing fentanyl shipments and illegal migration.
On Friday, Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on trade, TikTok and much more, reporting a “very good” call. The immediate imposition of tariffs could have dealt a setback to Trump’s idea of a TikTok resolution that gives the U.S. government a large ownership stake.
Trump seemed to confirm that bigger tariffs are coming in a post last week. “We will begin charging those that make money off us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fare share.”
In the same post, Trump announced, effective Inauguration Day, the creation of the “External Revenue Service,” which is clearly meant to sound less threatening than the Internal Revenue Service, though the tariffs would be paid by U.S. importers, not foreign exporters. Tariffs and import duties are currently collected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Immigration, Border Security
Trump advisers have indicated that Trump will sign an array of border-related executive orders on day one to “seal the border shut and begin the largest deportation operation in American history.” Still, it’s unclear how far-reaching the deportations will be.
After news reports revealed that immigration raids were set to begin in Chicago this week, the incoming Trump administration is reportedly rethinking its initial plan.
Trump and his advisers had said that the initial focus will be removing unauthorized immigrants who have committed crimes and recent arrivals. Axios has reported that of 1.8 million cases in immigration courts in fiscal 2024, only about 8,400 involved crimes other than entering the U.S. illegally.
While many businesses worry about potential labor shortages, some companies may thrive under tougher immigration rules. Shares of Geo Group (GEO) and CoreCivic (CXW) have soared since Election Day on expectations for detention centers.
Other day one executive actions may involve reviving Trump’s first-term policies that Biden scrapped, including the building of a wall; Title 42 blanket asylum denial for public health reasons; and a travel ban from Muslim-majority countries.
Trump also pledged to sign an order ending birthright citizenship for foreigners born in the U.S., though such a move will be challenged in the courts as running counter to the 14th Amendment.
Trump Inauguration: Executive Orders On Energy
One of Trump’s oft-stated pledges during the campaign was to end what he calls the “electric vehicle mandate,” which refers to Department of Transportation fuel-efficiency rules that impose heavy fines on automakers whose new-vehicle fleet falls short of target, on average. The latest Biden administration standard would lift average fuel economy to 50 miles per gallon by 2031.
Rolling back fuel-efficiency rules could have a mixed impact on Tesla, run by key Trump ally Elon Musk.
At a rally in Phoenix in December, Trump said he would “end all Biden restrictions on energy production” on his first day in office. That includes reopening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and ending Biden’s paused approval of additional liquefied natural gas export projects.
Energy stocks have rallied in recent weeks amid rebounding oil and natural gas prices. Cheniere Energy, a big LNG play, has surged to start the new year.
Trump And Musk Race To Slash Government And Save The S&P 500
Trump Executive Order On TikTok
Over the weekend, Trump signaled that he’ll issue an order granting TikTok up to 90 days before it faces a possible ban. Congress last year passed a law requiring China’s Bytedance to divest TikTok by Jan. 19, a day before Trump’s inauguration, or face a U.S. ban of the social media site.
Trump elaborated in a Truth Social post that the U.S. should get 50% ownership of TikTok if he saves the company.
Keeping TikTok online would negate a big potential boost for Meta’s Facebook and Instagram and for Snapchat parent Snap (SNAP).
Bitcoin, Crypto
Trump has big plans for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, including potentially establishing a bitcoin strategic reserve. However, bitcoin and crypto are late additions to Trump’s list of first-day agenda items, according to news reports this week. The scope of the first-day order isn’t yet clear, but anticipating has been building after the launch of the official $Trump meme coin exploded to reach a $10 billion market valuation.
Federal Regulations
In a late October speech, Trump promised a first-day executive order “directing every federal agency to immediately remove every single burdensome regulation driving up the cost of goods.”
Trump has also said his administration will cull 10 regulations for every one it passes, after setting a 2-1 ratio in his first term, and he has enlisted Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to go on a crusade against the regulatory state as chairs of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump Inauguration: Jan. 6
Trump has promised to pardon his supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. On NBC’s Meet The Press in December, he said that even those who engaged in violence against police officers merited pardons. However, JD Vance, his soon-to-be vice president, said recently that those who committed acts of violence shouldn’t be pardoned.
Education, Gender Identity
One of Trump’s most frequent day-one promises was to withhold federal funding from schools that teach critical race theory or have vaccine mandates, according to Axios, Presumably, Trump was alluding to Covid vaccines. All states require that vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella, for example.
Trump pledges first-day orders prohibiting transsexual individuals from participating in women’s sports or serving in the military.
Ukraine
The day-one pledge made most often by Trump, according to Axios, was to resolve the war between Russia and Ukraine. However, Trump already acknowledges that won’t happen on schedule, saying at a January press conference that he hopes to get the job done within six months.
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