The Most Important Number of the Week Was 46
President Joe Biden’s stock market honeymoon will be on shaky ground if his $1.9 trillion relief plan gets watered down.
Smooth sailing or headed for a crash?
Photographer: Rod Lamkey/CNP/Bloomberg
It’s hard to overstate what Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the U.S. presidential election has meant to the stock market. Between Election Day and Inauguration Day, the S&P 500 Index surged 14.3%, the most ever for the period, according to LPL Financial. The gains more than doubled the 6.2% return under Donald Trump, who was seen at the time of his victory as perhaps the most business-friendly president ever elected.
Not only that, but the 1.39% jump on Biden’s inauguration was the second-best ever, exceeded only by the 2.28% increase when Ronald Reagan was sworn in for a second term on Jan. 21, 1985.1 Clearly, investor expectations are high for the 46th president of the U.S.