The stock market performed well under Trump – but not historically good

The stock market performed well under Trump – but not historically good

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Between Trump’s inauguration in 2017 and Tuesday, his last full day in office, the S&P 500 (SPX), the broadest measure of the US stock market, rose 67%.
Trump often proclaimed market records in Twitter (TWTR), seeing them as an achievement of his administration.

“Now the stock market is substantially higher than it was before the pandemic,” Trump said in his farewell speech on Wednesday.

He is correct in saying that the shares are currently being traded in record territory and therefore at a higher level than before the pandemic. However, the market’s performance during his tenure was not a record.

Under President Barack Obama, the S&P 500 rose 85% during its first term, having hit rock bottom in March 2009 during the financial crisis. During President Bill Clinton’s first term, the rate rose 79%.

Shares initially rose when Trump was elected, while corporate America focused on its pro-business agenda, which included tax cuts, deregulation and pledges to spend on infrastructure.

The economy was also strong, helping to fuel the market boom.

But then there were negative trends for stocks: geopolitical concerns, including mounting tensions with North Korea and the trade war with China. The latter dominated strategists’ view of U.S. stocks in the middle of Trump’s term. But it was only after the pandemic that the biggest bull market in history officially came to an end.

According to Joe Biden, who took office as president on Wednesday, the stock market is expected to occupy a less prominent place on the White House’s list of priorities.

“The idea that the stock market is growing is his only measure of what is going on,” Biden said of Trump in the final presidential debate in October. “Where I come from in Scranton and Claymont, people don’t live on the stock market.”

During the summer, Trump said the market would “disintegrate” if he were not re-elected, but stocks have soared to new highs since Biden’s victory.
Analysts expect more gains for equities this year as the economy recovers from the pandemic crisis. Cyclical, consumer-oriented businesses typically perform well during a recovery, and the promise of a major infrastructure plan can increase construction and manufacturing inventories.

On Wednesday, Biden’s first day in office, all three major US stock indices ended the day with historic highs.

Biden never made any promises about how the stock market would perform during his tenure, and that should not change now that he has been sworn in. But one way or another, he started well.

– Matt Egan and Annalyn Kurtz from CNN contributed to this story.

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