Joe Biden’s first 100 days see historic Wall Street rally; Dow Jones, S&P 500 hit record highs

Meanwhile, another asset class has seen a phenomenal run during this period -- Bitcoin. (Image: REUTERS)

Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office have been among the best witnessed by Wall Street under any newly elected US President in recent history. Dow Jones surged 8.6% since the 46th US President stepped foot in the Oval Office, and S&P 500 index zoomed 8.5% in the same time frame. This has been the best performance recorded by the benchmark indices under any recent US Presidents from Ronald Regan’s first term to Donald Trump, according to data sourced by Refinitiv. Joe Biden took oath on January 20 this year and completed his 100 days in office on April 30.

Wall Street has been rising continuously since the March 2020 lows, barring minor shocks.  Since the Inauguration, the S&P 500 has grown 8.5%, registering the highest return of any first-term president in 40 years. With this Biden overtook Barack Obama’s record of 8.4% return during his first 100 days in office. The Dow Jones gained 8.6% in Joe Biden’s first 100 days, surpassing the second-highest return during George H W Bush’s first 100 days with a growth of 7.5%. Crude Oil also marched higher during the initial 100 days, surging 19.4%, just behind Barack Obama’s first term when oil prices surged 32%.

Although the technology-heavy NASDAQ index did hit record highs in February this year, it has given lesser returns than what have been seen earlier. NASDAQ gained 4.2%, lower than Donald Trump’s 9.7% and Barack Obama’s 19.1%. Biden, however, did manage to beat George W Bush and Bill Clinton’s performance of negative returns on NASDAQ.

Initial public offerings (IPO) have also been abundant in recent months. “Initial public offerings continue at pace and are on track for a record first half as the number of stock exchange debuts reach the highest level in more than two decades, and the proceeds raised so far this year smash all previous records,” said Lucille Jones, Deals Intelligence Analyst at Refinitiv. “The rapid recovery of the stock market, after stocks plunged in response to the spread of COVID-19 last year, encouraged companies to press ahead with IPOs, and investor sentiment about future growth opportunities beyond the pandemic has been key to driving activity this year,” she added.

Meanwhile, another asset class has seen a phenomenal run during this period — Bitcoin. “While the equity market has grown, there has also been a prominent rise in the growth of alternative currencies with Bitcoin being a recurring theme, up 63% since Biden’s inauguration,” the Refinitiv report said.