Wall Street, media celebrate Trump’s address to Congress
2 March 2017
Wall Street celebrated Donald Trump’s Tuesday speech to a joint session of Congress—in which he promised massive tax cuts for business and the virtual elimination of government regulations—with a record-breaking surge in stock values. And the US media, for its part, entered a phase that might be described as “learning to love the Donald.”
Almost universally, the major media outlets—many of which were denounced only last week by Trump as “the enemies of the people”—presented Trump’s speech as a tour de force, a truly “presidential” address that marked a “pivot” for his administration. Trump’s language and tone in the address were interpreted as a signal that he is serious about getting Congressional approval for his right-wing, pro-corporate measures, that he will not let factional infighting get in the way of showering Wall Street with riches.
The stock markets followed suit, with the Dow-Jones Industrial Average rising more than 300 points Wednesday to end above 21,000 for the first time ever. Financial stocks led the rally, with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup up more than 3 percent in one day. ExxonMobil and Boeing gained more than 2 percent, as did American Express and Travelers. The broader S&P 500 index, the Nasdaq Composite Index of mainly tech stocks, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller firms all closed at record levels.
As Trump boasted in his speech, since his election victory last November 8, the Dow has soared nearly 3,000 points, as part of a stock market boom that has added an estimated $3 trillion in value to the shares of American banks and corporations.
Wall Street had plenty to celebrate even before the speech in which Trump laid out his…