Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq climb as Wall Street gets set to wrap up volatile week

A day after launching its institutional digital asset platform to push further into crypto, asset manager and custody bank State Street (STT) reported fourth quarter results that showed solid underlying trends.

But a repositioning charge weighed on earnings — and shares in premarket trading. State Street’s stock fell more than 2% ahead of the opening bell on Friday.

The asset manager reported rising revenue of $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter, driven by increased fee revenue and topping Wall Street analyst expectations for $3.6 billion in revenue, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Net interest income increased by 7% year over year.

State Street’s assets under custody increased 16% year over year to $53.8 trillion, primarily due to higher market levels and flows. Assets under management in the fourth quarter, meanwhile, increased 20% to $5.7 trillion.

However, net income of $747 million declined 5% year over year. State Street’s GAAP earnings per share of $2.42 missed expectations of $2.45 per share.

State Street’s overall expenses increased 12%, which the company largely attributed to a $226 million repositioning charge.

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Morgan Stanley has laid out its bullish case for ASML (ASML, ASML.AS), saying in the most optimistic scenario the stock has a 70% rally ahead as chipmakers ramp up spending to meet soaring AI demand.

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Bloomberg reports:

A record trade surplus racked up by China is washing up around the world, as export earnings that once ended up in state coffers instead fund massive private purchases of overseas securities and business expansion abroad.

Rather than leaving most of last year’s $1.2 trillion windfall in the hands of the central bank, some two-thirds of the foreign assets sourced primarily from global trade ended up with companies, individuals and state lenders. That brings with it the risk of a sudden capital reversal that China doesn’t immediately control, especially in a world where the yuan is allowed to strengthen.

Investors comprising China’s so-called non-official sector saw their holdings of assets abroad soar by more than $1 trillion in the first three quarters of last year — according to the latest available data from China’s currency market regulator — more than double the annual average growth in the past decade.

Putting that money to work last year resulted in a $535 billion surge in Chinese private purchases of overseas securities like US stocks, European bonds and mutual funds, Bloomberg calculations show, though a more detailed geographical breakdown of the investments isn’t available. The increase through September outpaced any full-year increase over the past two decades and was far more than poured out of China in the form of direct investments used to build factories and warehouses or expand staffing abroad.

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Silver dropped on Friday after the US held off from putting import tariffs on critical minerals, but was still up more than 15% for the week on surging demand for precious metals.

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Bloomberg reports:

The 10-year Treasury note’s (^TNX) yield is headed for a fifth straight week of minimal change, rivaling its longest stretch of inertia in the past two decades.

Since 2006, the median weekly range for 10-year yields has been 16 basis points. For the past five weeks, it’s been less than 10 basis points, the longest comparable stretch since 2020.

The trend — a function primarily of expected stability in US monetary policy — is stoking anxiety among bond-market investors because previous instances of constricted yield ranges have been followed by selloffs.

The 10-year note’s yield range of between 4.1% to 4.2% since mid-December has survived risk events including the December employment data, the US Justice Department’s actions against Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the prospect of American military action in Iran, Ian Lyngen, interest-rate strategist at BMO Capital Markets, observed in a report.

“Investors have been left to ponder what would be required to push 10-year yields to 4.25% or 4.05%,” Lyngen wrote.

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Reuters reports:

Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, as concerns about supply risks eased after the ​likelihood of a U.S. strike on Iran receded.

Brent (BZ=F) was down 21 cents, or ‌0.3%, to $63.55 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) fell 15 cents, or 0.3%, to $59.04 per barrel at ‌0418 GMT.

Both Brent and WTI rose to multi-month highs this week after protests flared up in Iran and U.S. President Donald Trump signalled the potential for strikes on the nation. Brent prices were still set for a fourth week of gains.

Late on Thursday, however, Trump said ⁠Tehran’s crackdown on the protesters was ‌easing, allaying worries about possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.

Brent prices have given back earlier gains but remain higher than a ‍week ago, with the decline in prices spurred by Trump’s statement that he would hold off on military strikes on Iran, BMI analysts said in a note.

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Bloomberg reports:

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Bloomberg reports:

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