Mr Trump's plans for tax cuts, stimulus spending and deregulation, and his inauguration speech focusing on more manufacturing in the US, have already sparked a brighter outlook for business.
Historically, US shares have performed well in the first 100 days of a presidency. The S&P500 has risen 1.6% on average, posting gains 70% of the time.
However, the record has been much better for Democratic presidents, who have had an average return of 3.5% and gains 80% of the time. The average returns from Republican presidents have been -0.4% and gains just 60% of the time.
Gold prices went higher yesterday as the US dollar fell and US Treasury yields came off highs.
Mr Trump pledged to end the ``American carnage'' of social and economic woes in an inaugural address that was a populist and nationalist rallying cry, prompting investor concern about protectionist trade policies.
The issues Mr Trump touched on are seen as being supportive of gold. Gold is highly sensitive to rising interest rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion while boosting the US dollar, in which it is priced.
Gold had dropped back from a significant technical level of about $US1220 ($NZ1700) an ounce, a critical retracement of last year's high-to-low move, brokers said. Yesterday, gold was trading at $US1211.30 an ounce.
The US fourth-quarter earnings season has just started, providing a glimpse of what major large companies expect under President Trump. Their take so far is largely positive.
More than a dozen S&P500 companies are expected to increase their earnings by 6.3% on average in the December quarter and 13.6% in the March quarter, according to Thomson Reuters. Since the November election, the S&P500 has rallied 6% to record highs, in part because of expectations Mr Trump will pass policies stimulating the economy. Banks have led gains as investors bet Mr Trump will roll back regulations passed by former president Barack Obama following the 2008 global financial crisis.
Craigs Investment Partners broker Chris Timms told the Otago Daily Times the reporting season got busy this week. About a fifth of S&P500 companies - nearly 100 companies - were set to report results, including some big names such as Google, McDonald's, Yahoo, 3M, Boeing, United Technologies, AT&T, Caterpillar and Microsoft.
Of the 63 companies reporting so far, 38% had beaten revenue estimates and 75% had exceeded earnings forecasts, he said.
While Mr Trump's views on immigration and a range of other issues were at odds with many Americans, most small businesses and consumers saw a brighter future as he launched his presidency.
An index of small business confidence in December hit a 12-year high, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
In December the US consumer confidence index reached its highest level since August 2001, a month before the September 11 attacks.
Following strong stock gains in November and December, many on Wall Street were concerned Mr Trump might fail to deliver on all of his promises, Mr Timms said.
A Republican-controlled Congress might pull back from infrastructure spending or tax reductions, which could widen the federal budget deficit.
In the past two months, Mr Trump has publicly targeted and threatened a range of multinationals, including Ford, General Motors, Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin, leaving chief executives wary of publicly disagreeing with his optimism.
``You don't want to step on a mine. So the best course of action is to be somewhat optimistic, positive, but also somewhat noncommittal so you're not trapped one way or another,'' Boston Private Wealth chief market strategist Robert Pavlic told Reuters.
Mr Trumps's frequent use of Twitter to single out companies for criticism or praise had created volatile spikes in trading of their shares, which was good for online brokers.
