Existing home sales climbed 2.2% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.24 million, according to the National Association of Realtors, the strongest pace since February 2024. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected existing home sales to hit a pace of 4.2 million in December.

Wall Street is pointing slightly lower in early trading but is on track to close the week with solid gains on healthy quarterly earnings reports from large U.S. corporations

A whirlwind week of announcements, executive orders, and commentary from the president turned the prevailing market narrative on its head.

Global stock markets rose on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump's latest comments were seen as taking a softer stance towards tariffs against China and raised the prospect of lower U.S. interest rates.

Global stocks steadied on Thursday, as a rally fueled by President Donald Trump's spending plans for artificial intelligence infrastructure fizzled and caution set in over what the new U.S. president's next moves on trade might be.

Global stock markets rallied this week amid Trump’s actions following his inauguration on Monday. European markets repeatedly hit new highs despite tariff threats, while the euro rebounded against the dollar.

US stock market is heading for its best start for a new American president since Ronald Reagan was sworn in to power in 1985. The benchmark S&P 500 was hovering near record high on Friday. The index is up over 2 per cent this week.