Dow jumps 250 points on final day of Trump presidency

Stock markets jumped Tuesday, the final full day of President Trump’s term in office.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened up 245 points, or 0.8 percent, and the S&P 500 opened up 30 points, or 0.8 percent.

Markets are anticipating that Congress will enact some portion of President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal, which has earned support from business and labor groups alike.

Biden said he would release a multitrillion-dollar recovery plan in February largely focused on infrastructure.

Trump, who made tax cuts and deregulation a policy focus of his presidency, saw significant stock market returns during his four years in office, though they were punctuated by periods of serious retreats as well. In particular, trade policies and the COVID-19 pandemic arrested some of the gains.

But loose monetary policy has helped push asset prices up, leading stock markets to record highs in recent weeks. Trump regularly pointed to stock market performance as a sign of his success in office.

In the last 30 years, however, the Trump market only outperformed George W. Bush when comparing the first four years of a presidential term.