President Joe Biden is leaving the White House with the S&P 500 up more than 50% and the Nasdaq composite up about 45% since he took office.
Biden’s term began with the tail-end of the post-Covid bull market in 2021. It included a bear market in 2022 but also back-to-back gains of 24% and 28% in 2023-’24 in the S&P 500.
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While the best-performing index during his tenure was the S&P 500 index, small-cap stocks lagged. The Russell 2000 climbed less than 1%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. That’s the worst presidential term ever for the small-cap benchmark.
All-Time Best Stock Market Performances
The S&P’s 53% increase during the Biden presidency ranks seventh among all presidents over the past seven decades.
The best-performing major index under President Biden’s leadership was the S&P 500, with a 53.6% gain through Jan. 13, 2025. The Nasdaq composite had a 44.7% increase, followed by a 36.7% lift in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Under President Donald Trump’s term from 2017 to 2021, the Nasdaq produced its highest gain during any four-year presidential period in the modern stock market era, starting with President Dwight Eisenhower.
Under Trump’s reign, the Nasdaq composite gained 137.6%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. (The Nasdaq was launched in 1971.) The S&P 500 rose 67.3% under Trump’s watch.
Both Biden and Trump fell short of the all-time largest gain of 84.5% in the S&P 500, which occurred during President Barack Obama’s first term from 2009 to 2013. Obama also produced the highest gain in the Russell 2000 during the same term, a 105.9% increase. (The Russell index was started in 1984.)
Obama’s presidency included the post-financial crisis bull market.
Bill Clinton gets the highest index performance of any president, with a 110.8% surge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average during his first term from 1993 to 1997. The dot-com bubble formed during the final years of his second term. The Nasdaq roared 93.4% and 103.1% in his two terms.
Stock Gains Between Election Days
Counting the four-year periods between Election Days for the winning candidate, Biden saw the S&P 500 index rise 69.6% vs. Trump’s 54.7% increase from the 2016 Election Day.
But Trump dominated in the Nasdaq, with a robust 111% boost that topped Biden’s 62.9% increase. The outcome was reversed for the Dow, with Biden’s election cycle lifting the blue chip index 52.1% vs. Trump’s 46.9%.
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During the current election cycle that began Nov. 5, and in preliminary results through Jan. 13, the Trump win initially produced lofty gains in November. But a large portion of those increases have evaporated amid weakness that began in December.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock market news on X/Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
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