Investors are preparing for Trump 2.0

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open informs investors about everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Stabilization of the yuan a priority for Beijing
The offshore Chinese yuan weakened more than 3% against the US dollar, presenting headaches for Beijingwho wants avoid currency volatility even as a cheaper yuan boosts exports. On Monday, China left its reference interest rates unchangedsuggesting that maintaining the stability of the yuan is more important than strengthening the domestic economy.

Slowing down of Chinese investment in the US
Chinese investment in the US has slowed dramatically in recent years, according to the latest data Data from the American Enterprise Institute. Only $1.66 billion entered the US in 2023, down sharply from $46.86 billion in 2017. That trickle is it is unlikely that they will respond during the second term of US President-elect Donald Trump due to “ideological misalignment”, analysts said.

The first winning week for US stocks in 2025
US markets a rose on Friday to end the week higher for the first time in 2025. Asia-Pacific markets went up on monday. During the trading day, Hong Kong is Hang Seng index jumped to its highest level since December 31. The CSI 300 index in mainland China added about 0.5% as Beijing kept key lending rates unchanged.

The clock has restarted for TikTok
TikTok said ua statement about X yes it is renewing service in the US after Trump wrote on his social media app Social truth he would “issue an executive order on Monday” for the delay banning TikTok. On Saturday, Perplexity AI submitted an offer to TikTok’s parent company ByteDance for create a new merged entity combining Perplexity, TikTok US and new capital partners, CNBC learns.

Trillionaires in a decade, Oxfam predicts
The the joint wealth of billionaires rise to $15 trillion from $13 trillion in 2024, Oxfam said on Sunday. It is the second largest annual increase in the wealth of billionaires since Oxfam’s records have been kept. As the rich accumulate wealth at an ever-faster pace, the charity predicts there will be at least five trillionaires within ten years.

TSMC confident of continued funding under Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co expects to continue receiving 6.6 billion dollars were promised under the Biden administration CHIPS and the Science Act even after Trump takes office, TSMC Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang he told CNBC in an exclusive interview. On the campaign trail, Trump criticized the CHIPS Act and accused Taiwan of stealing chip business from the US

[PRO] Trump will set the direction of the market
Trump’s inauguration will take place later on Monday. Investors will want to keep an eye on it which executive orders will Trump sign starting on day one of his presidency, especially as they relate to tariffs and corporate policy. These orders could chart the stock’s direction for much longer than just the short term.

The S&P 500 jumped above the shiny 6,000 level after Trump’s election victory, but has largely erased all of its gains and returned to its pre-election levels in the past few weeks. However, as Trump prepares to enter the White House, it appears that investors are once again preparing to play the market based on his agenda.

The stock finally finished positive last Sunday, marking its first weekly gain this year. In a week, S&P 500 advanced 2.9% and Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 3.7%, their best weekly performance since the week of the US presidential election in November. The Nasdaq Composite added 2.5%, which is the best week since the beginning of December.

Banks were a big contributor to the index’s jump as better-than-expected earnings reports from major banks lifted their shares higher. Shares of Goldman Sachs jumped about 12% weekly and JPMorgan Chase it rose by 8% in the same period. Overall, the financial sector rallied more than 6% last week, outperforming the S&P.

Trump’s presidency could provide more momentum for bank stocks. Rising business and consumer confidence, the extension of tax cuts and deregulation of the financial industry are potential drivers for the sector, according to Chris Senyek, chief investment strategist at Wolfe Research.

“We still see Financials as the biggest sector gainer under the Trump administration,” Senyek wrote in a note on Friday.

Additionally, in addition to the anticipation of Trump sitting in the Oval Office, muted sequential inflation readings for December also boosted market sentiment: all market sectors ended the week in the red.

Better-than-expected economic data helped “revive the Goldilocks story for stocks and likely fueled renewed risk-taking,” Barclays strategist Emmanuel Cau wrote in a note dated Friday.

Usually, any change involves increased risks. That’s true with Trump 2.0 — but as the number “two” suggests, the change we’ve seen before could ease a little of that uncertainty.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim and Sarah Min contributed to this report.