Sure, it may be a little disappointing that the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average look like they won’t finish out the week at record highs. But you know what hasn’t been disappointing? The stock market’s rally off its 2025 low.
Trump’s immediate response of reducing the tariffs appeased the market—and then some. The Dow has risen an impressive 29% since then, the S&P 500 has gained a tremendous 39%, and the Nasdaq Composite has soared a spectacular 55%.
Those are the largest gains from a year’s low through year-end since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic freaked out investors even more than tariffs did. The Dow rose 65% from the year’s trough to the end of the year, while the S&P gained 68%, and the Nasdaq climbed 88%.
It’s a reminder that it’s often the biggest freakouts that set the stage for the market’s largest gains.
