Stocks Just Posted the Worst Start to a Presidential Administration Since the ’70s

The stock market hasn’t had a worse first 100 days of a presidency in half a century. 

The S&P 500 fell more than 7% in the 100 calendar days—69 trading days, to be precise—since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, which concluded Tuesday. That’s the worst post-inauguration performance for the index since Gerald Ford took office in August 1974, when stocks declined more than 11% after Nixon resigned amid a stagflation recession. 

A president’s impact on the economy and the stock market isn’t always felt within their first 100 days in office—if it’s felt during their administration at all. But Trump has so far turned the US and global economies on their heads, raising U.S. tariffs to their highest level in about a century and threatening the independence of the Federal Reserve, contributing to upheaval in financial markets worldwide. Consumer confidence has plummeted, recession risks have risen, and business leaders are navigating a thick fog of uncertainty. 

Trump entered the White House with the stock market sailing, buoyed by hopes for corporate tax cuts, deregulation, and a flurry of mergers and acquisitions. Stocks hit a record high days after Trump’s inauguration and hovered there for about a month before signs of cratering consumer sentiment set off alarm bells on Wall Street. The stock market has since suffered its worst rout in decades—and one of its biggest rallies in decades—as the president has continued to ratchet up the uncertainty.

The chaos has been more than some of the president’s supporters bargained for. Executives who welcomed Trump’s re-election, expecting four years of business and shareholder-friendly policies, have pushed back against the president’s tariffs. Optimism among small business owners has waned. And some of Trump’s most vocal backers on Wall Street, frustrated with the president’s tariffs, have criticized the administration on social media.