Stocks Close Friday Flat Ending Wild Week As Trump's Immigration Ban May Kill The Rally

Stocks cautiously ended the first full week of the Donald Trump presidency just as Mr. Trump unveiled his most audacious edict via executive order, barring immigration from countries embroiled in the throes of radical Islam such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen and four others.

While market participants have been somewhat encouraged by a number of first-week moves made by the new president, the promised immigration shutdown may have more implication globally than anybody may have wished. Stocks finished mixed in a week which witness a number of new all-time highs, particularly the Dow, which surpassed and held above the 20,000 level for the first time ever.

At the Close 1.27.16:
Dow: 20,093.78, -7.13 (-0.04%)
NASDAQ: 5,660.78, +5.61 (0.10%)
S&P 500: 2,294.69, -1.99 (-0.09%)
NYSE Composite: 11,283.19, -29.93 (-0.26)

On the week, all major indices sported gains, led by the NASDAQ and Dow Industrials, though the ramifications from the immigration ban were yet to be fully appreciated. As markets set to open in the US on Monday, futures indicated a negative open while markets around the world were suffering significant losses despite China and Hong Kong markets being closed all week for the Lunar New Year holiday. The tenor of trading suggests that markets may not be going along for the protectionist ride that the Trump administration has in mind. "America First" may well turn out to be the death knell for globalization, but the results of such radical policy changes is sure to increase market volatility, which, to this point has been benign.

For the week:
Dow: +266.53 (+1.34%)
NASDAQ: +105.45 (+1.90%)
S&P 500: +23.38 (+1.03%)
NYSE Composite: +90.39 (+0.81%)