The stock market set records in 2017, with the three major indexes (the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq) all registering double-digit returns. Even more impressive, the markets did so in the least volatile stretch of gains recorded last year. Absent the heartbeat-like fluctuations we usually see, the market only inched in one direction in 2017: higher.
February threw a wrench in that steak, with the market seeing its first major correction under the Trump presidency. In fairness, however, one could argue that the market was simply giving back excess gains in January. At its depths during the crash in February, the market fell *only* back to where it was less than three months prior. It’s also worth noting that even despite the drop early in the year, U.S. markets still outperformed international markets (which fell comparably sharper).
And as of yesterday, the markets have recovered completely from the February decline, and are set to reach new highs yet again.
According to Quartz Magazine, “at the close of trading in New York Wednesday, the stock market will make an impressive milestone. It will set the record for the longest bull market in history. A bull market generally begins when the market rises 20% from the low set at the end of a bear market, which itself is measured by a 20% fall from a previous peak. The last low set by the benchmark S&P 500 index was on March 9, 2009. It’s been 3,453 days of fairly steady growth since then, with the S&P 500 climbing by more than 320% over that period. The previous record bull run was set between Oct. 1990 and March 2000.”
The 1990-2000 The two are charted below. While the 1990-2000 boom outperformed this current steak, the 90-2000 boom was fueled mainly by the tech bubble (which ended up popping).
Trump tweeted out the news on Twitter. “Longest bull run in the history of the stock market, congratulations America!”
Longest bull run in the history of the stock market, congratulations America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2018
Hilariously, liberals were too busy playing Chicken Little to participate in this bull market. On the night of the election, the New York Times’ Paul Krugman predicted that markets could recover from the Trump presidency “probably never.”
As the markets began surging the week following his victory, CNN warned that there was still trouble ahead. Commentator Paul R. La Monica warned that despite gains following Trump’s victory, “several market strategists expressed concerns that the market is underestimating the possibility of Trump rattling the markets during his time in office.” Another supposed threat to the markets? Trump’s immigration stance. “Trump’s anti-immigration stance could also be a big problem for U.S. tech companies, which have attracted a lot of talented foreign workers due to the H1-B visa program. Will Trump seek to end that?”
In conclusion, he wrote: “Now this isn’t to say that the market definitely is due for a crash during the Trump administration. But experts think investors may now need to take a step back and remember that there still isn’t a lot that the market knows about possible Trump policies.”
Well, there’s a lot they know now, and a lot they like.
We can only pray that nobody went to CNN for retirement advice in 2016.
