LIVE MARKETS-Investors take money off the table ahead of earnings, Fed decision

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INVESTORS TAKE MONEY OFF THE TABLE AHEAD OF EARNINGS, FED DECISION

Investors crossed the finish line of a holiday shortened week on Friday, marking the first four trading days of President Trump's second term with a modest selloff.

All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the session in the red, and the S&P 500 .SPX pulled back from Thursday's record closing high.

But they also managed notch gains on a week in which fourth-quarter earnings season gathered momentum and Trump hit the ground running with a flurry of executive orders and announcements.

Those include an intended declaration of a "national energy emergency" and a $500 billion privately funded AI infrastructure project called "Stargate."

The word "tariffs" was tossed around for much of the week, notably at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, but little clarity was provided regarding the size, timing or target of these tariffs.

On the earnings front, American Express AXP.N and Verizon VZ.N both beat analyst expectations. But shares for the latter advanced 0.9%, while the former slid 1.4%.

It's still early in the game.

Of the 78 constituents of the S&P 500 that have reported so far, 78% have beaten expectations, according to the latest LSEG data.

Analysts now see year-over-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 10.4%, on aggregate, up from the 9.6% estimate as Jan. 1, per LSEG.

High profile earnings on the docket for the upcoming week include General Motors GM.N, Starbucks SBUX.O, Meta Platforms META.O, Microsoft MSFT.O, Tesla TSLA.O, Caterpillar CAT.N, Exxon Mobil XOM.N and Chevron CVX.N, among others.

The truncated week was fairly light on economic data, and a trio of mixed reports on Friday - existing home sales, S&P Global's "flash" PMI and a final take on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan - failed to inspire much enthusiasm.

Next week, new home sales, durable goods, Case-Shiller, the Commerce Department's first look at Q4 GDP on Thursday and the broad ranging PCE report on Friday are the big headliners.

GDP and PCE are slated to occur after Powell & Co's Wednesday rate decision, which everyone and their mother expects will result in the Fed funds target rate staying right where it is, in the 4.25% to 4.50% range.

Here's your closing snapshot:

(Stephen Culp)

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