US stocks inch higher ahead of Trump news conference
Major US equity indices opened with slight positive bias on Wednesday as investors remained on the sideline ahead of the much awaited President-elect Donald Trump's first formal news conference.
At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up around 70-points to 19,925, while the broader S&P 500 Index added 3-points to 2,272. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index traded nearly unchanged from yesterday's closing level above 5,550.
Trump-led rally in the US equity markets, to record high levels, has already started showing some signs of exhaustion as investors now look for evidence whether Trump would follow through on the election campaign promises and spur economic growth through fiscal policies.
Should Trump fail to convey his plans for the economy and provide some more specifics of fiscal stimulus measures, it might lead to an extended period of consolidating move or could even infuse some amount of volatility in the market.
Investors will also look for clarification on media reports that Russian intelligence holds compromising information, which could be used as a potential blackmail material.