Donald Trump’s early moves on infrastructure and deregulation have reignited investor confidence in the US economy, propelling stocks into record territory and sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 20,000 for the first time.
Mr Trump was quick to note the milestone for the blue-chip average, tweeting “Great!” with the hashtag “#Dow20K”. But bullish sentiment was not isolated to the Dow, an idiosyncratic index which tracks just 30 popular stocks whose performance is driven by companies with the highest share prices.
The broader S&P 500 benchmark also hit new highs, helped by rallies in economically-sensitive sectors directly affected by Mr Trump’s first executive actions — including requiring that domestic steel be used for US pipelines and building a wall along the Mexican border.