There is one thing that Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Donald Trump have in common: both had tremendous Dow Jones growth in the first years of their presidencies. The Dow Jones had a 5,000-point surge in 2017,the largest annual gain in its history. Overall, the 31 percent growth the Dow Jones experienced in the first year of Trump’s presidency was the best market performance since FDR (via CNBC):
The Dow has surged more than 31 percent since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. That marks the index's best performance during a president's first year since Roosevelt. The Dow skyrocketed 96.5 percent during Roosevelt's first year in office.
"This is all about policy," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird. "You've got lower taxes, less regulation and confidence in the economy is high. Things are firing on all cylinders."
Obama bested Trump in the S&P 500, but the Dow Jones closed for the first time above 26,000 on January 17. Today, it had another record day at closing:
U.S. equities traded in a wide range on Wednesday after reaching all-time highs as tech stocks declined. The market's high valuation also made some investors nervous.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 41.31 points higher at 26,252.12, managing intraday and closing records. The 30-stock index rose as much as 182 points and briefly fell 104 points.
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The major indexes hit all-time highs earlier in the session as investors cheered better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Yes, there have been overtures made by this White House that should have shook the markets. Not so much.
The economy grew at almost four percent last quarter. Over 150 businesses have doled out bonuses to their workers due to Trump’s tax reform package. They’ve also announced that they plan to increase employee investment and philanthropic giving. Over two million workers have received a bonus of $1,000 or more. Apple is repatriating hundreds of billions—around $200-250 billion—in overseas cash, part of its $350 billion investment back into the country over the next five years. It’s also projected to create 20,000 jobs in the process. So far, the job creating and investing environment Trump has created has been pretty good.