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President Donald Trump used the best one-day surge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.58% in seven weeks on Wednesday as a presidential campaign opportunity.
“The Dow Jones Industrial Average just closed above 29,000! You are so lucky to have me as your President,” wrote Trump in an emoji-laced tweet moments after the blue-chip benchmark booked its highest close since February, finishing within 2% of its Feb. 12 all-time closing high at 29,551.42.
The gains for the Dow came as the S&P 500 index SPX, +1.53% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.97% closed out Wednesday’s action at record highs, boosted by rabid buying in utilities, health care, materials and consumer staples stocks, even as some of the heaviest-hitting technology stocks, including Apple Inc. AAPL, -2.07% and Tesla TSLA, -5.82% took a substantial breather, sinking sharply on the day following a rally for both stocks.
Wednesday’s equity-market climb underscored an unparalleled run-up in stocks from out of the depths of the coronavirus crisis back in March.
Trump, arguably, more than any other modern president has hitched his political success to that of the economy, or at least the stock market, which were both leveled in the wake of the deadly public health crisis that emerged due to the spread of COVID-19 across the globe.
Trump views his perception as a business-friendly commander-in-chief gives him an edge over Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who currently leads the incumbent president in most national polls.
The 45th president’s Wednesday tweet on stocks claimed that “Hiden’,” as he referred to the former Vice President Biden, would “crash” the markets, reiterating a persistent claim by Trump, as the race for the White House has heated up.
Trump has cast his battle against Biden as a fight for the future of the U.S. economy.
Still, the success of the stock market and economy won’t likely to be enough to secure a win for Trump. Strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. have made the case that a win for Biden would be “neutral to slight positive” for stocks.
