Stocks traded higher in the wake of President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union Address to Congress.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 200 points to over 21,000 for the first time, as stocks hit all-time highs on Wednesday.
The Dow soared to over 20,000 in the wake of Trump’s landslide victory over Hillary Clinton in November.
The national news media — mostly comprised of bitter Clinton supporters — have been slow to credit Trump’s election win with the overall optimism in the stock market.
Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial, said the speech’s tone “has gone a long way for the market” as it “assuaged fears that his agenda was not going to be able to be passed.”
Trump addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time on Tuesday. He entered to a prolonged 5 minute ovation. His speech unified both parties — and the national media, which has dogged Trump at every turn and attempted to sabotage his presidency.
Even stalwart Trump critic Van Jones was moved by Trump’s speech on Tuesday.
“He became President of the United States in that moment, period,” the CNN commentator said emphatically on Anderson Cooper’s 360.
“For people who have been hoping that he would remain a divisive cartoon, which he often does, they should be a little worried tonight,” he added.
