Stock market grew in 2025 but less than any first year of a new presidency in two decades

Last year saw the stock market grow but still marked the worst first year of a presidential administration in terms of stocks since 2005, as President Trump’s drastic shifts on tariffs fueled economic uncertainty.From his inauguration day last year through Jan.20 of this year, the S&P 500 rose 13.3% – the most tepid start to a presidency in 20 years, since George W.

Bush entered his second term, CNN reported.By comparison, during the first year of Trump’s first term in the Oval Office, the S&P 500 skyrocketed 24.1%, according to CFRA Research cited by CNN.Last year, the S&P 500 notched 39 record highs.Back in 2017, when Trump first took office, it reached 62 all-time highs.International stocks outperformed the US market for the first time in years as the president’s abrupt tariff announcements stoked volatility in the markets, CNN noted.“If [this past year] is the weakest year, we will take a ‘weak’ year every year,” Mahoney Asset Management CEO Ken Mahoney told The Post.

“Starting the new year, however, there are multiple balls in the air and we are failing to make new highs or higher highs.”New tariffs, geopolitical tensions and a metals rally as investors flock to safe-haven assets are “a bit concerning,” he added.The first year of Trump’s second term followed the S&P 500’s first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since the 1990s – so the bar was already high for further market gains in 2025, CNN reported.Still, stock market gains are widely viewed as a bright point in the current Trump economy – largely driven by AI optimism, interest rate cuts, strong corporate earnings and a fairly resilient economy.“Joe Biden inherited three lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines and an economy that was artificially depressed by Democrat state officials implementing draconian pandemic shutdowns.President Trump, on the other hand, inherited the worst inflation crisis, immigration disaster, and cumbersome regulatory regime in a...