Dow Closes Above 21000 for First Time Following Trump’s Address to Joint Session

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) closed above 21000 for the first time ever following President Donald J. Trump’s address a joint session of Congress. From the opening bell, the blue-chip index continued what was one of the fastest 1,000-point advances in history and, as early as 9:39 AM EST on Wednesday morning, the Dow climbed +196.00, or 0.94% to 21,008.24.

By the closing bell, the Dow gained 303.31 points, or 1.46% to 21,115.55 during the session. The top give winners were (2.04%) Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), (2.04%) Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), (1.88%) 3M Co (NYSE:MMM), (1.87%) Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), and (1.35%) Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Together, they account for half of the Dow’s rally since January 25 when the index closed above 20000 for the first time ever in history.

The Trump rally on Wall Street has now created more than $3 trillion in wealth and is fueled by promises to repeal ObamaCare,  long-awaited and desperately needed tax reform, renegotiating multilateral trade policies that have decimated the U.S. manufacturing base and $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

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“Right now, American companies are taxed at one of the highest rates anywhere in the world. My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone,” President Trump said to Congress. “At the same time, we will provide massive tax relief for the middle class. We must create a level playing field for American companies and workers.”

Shares of DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM), a San Diego-based a medical device company, were up 4.23% to 81.47.

The president also said in his speech on Tuesday night that infrastructure spending will be both a publicly- and privately-funded venture. Tapping former Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who implemented what he referred to as the “last truly great national infrastructure program,” President Trump called for the hybrid infrastructure plan.

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“The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding. America has spent approximately $6 trillion in the Middle East, all this while our infrastructure at home is crumbling,” he said. “With this $6 trillion we could have rebuilt our country–twice. To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion dollar investment in the infrastructure of the United States – financed through both public and private capital – creating millions of new jobs.”

Since taking office, he has hosted a dozen meetings with business leaders and signed two rounds of executive orders (here and here) aiming to significantly scale back regulation on both small and large businesses. In anticipation of these orders, as well as the signing of regulatory and tax reform bills passed by a Republican Congress, U.S. markets have boomed.

The S&P 500 briefly crossed 2400 for the first time before closing up 32.32 points, or 1.37% to 2,395.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index also hit new highs and was up 78.59 points to 5,904.03, or 1.35%.

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