US President Donald Trump is among the few presidents under whom stock markets have rallied strongly to reach record highs. US equity indexes surged in 2025 to new highs and continued the trend until the Middle East conflict began in late February of this year.
The Trump-driven bull market survived multiple scares over the past year, as multiple catalysts, including artificial intelligence (AI), continued to push stock prices higher. During his first term, Trump's flagship Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also gave public companies the option to change how they reward shareholders, as the new law trimmed the peak marginal corporate income tax rate to 21% from 35%.
