All those stock market gains since US president Donald Trump signed a major tax overhaul in late December have vanished, after the Dow Industrial index posted its biggest one-day drop in history today (Feb. 5).
At one point, the Dow fell 6.3%, or nearly 1,600 points, which also cancelled its gains for this year, as investors fret over rising bond yields and the prospect of higher interest rates. It closed the day down 4.6%, or 1,175 points.
The stock market’s bull run has been a key part of Trump’s message that his presidency has been good for the US economy, and central to that was the Republican tax overhaul passed in December. In the weeks after it was passed, the Dow continued to gain, passing yet another milestone, but that’s gone now.
Still, as the stock market was rapidly dropping, Trump was delivering a speech in Ohio at a manufacturing company, touting higher wages and the return of jobs back to America.
In a statement responding to the market rout, the White House said it was focusing on “long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong.”
The Dow, however, is still 23% higher than when Trump was inaugurated in January 2017.