How The Markets Performed On The Last Day Of Trump's Presidency

President Donald Trump's four-year term saw market highs and a COVID-19 pandemic fueled low, but remained consistent in its positive stock return to investors. On Tuesday, Trump's last full day in office, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY traded higher by 0.9%.

What Happened? Trump often touted strong stock market performance as a gauge of his policies, and Trump’s term ended on a positive note for investors on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 finished the session at 3,798,91, just 0.7% off its all-time high. The Dow closed at 30,930.52, within 100 points of its all-time closing high.

Why It’s Important: Trump’s legacy for many investors will be his aggressive corporate tax cuts and his hands-off approach to regulation, two factors that contributed positively to corporate profitability and higher stock prices.

However, Trump’s standoffish approach to international trade partners, particularly his trade war with China, weighed on stocks that rely on overseas business. In addition, Trump’s spontaneous and unorthodox approach to governing, as well as his frequent use of Twitter to communicate unexpected policy decisions often created uncertainty and volatility in the markets.

Trump and many of his supporters have touted the S&P 500’s surprising 16.3% 2020 gain amid a global pandemic as evidence of Trump’s leadership. Critics have instead focused on economic shutdowns, job losses and pandemic deaths as evidence of a growing divide between Wall Street and the real U.S. economy.

Related Link: Here's How Americans Are Spending Their Stimulus Payments

Benzinga’s Take: From Election Day 2016 to Election Day 2020, the S&P 500 rallied 57.4% overall in the Trump era. However, investors seemingly have high expectations for President-elect Joe Biden given that the S&P has rallied another 12.7% since Trump lost the presidential election in November.

Photo courtesy: Gage Skidmore on Flickr.