Look at the stock market NOW! Trump cheers record rally and predicts the US economy will roar back next year, as the pandemic tanks growth

Gerry Broome/AP

• President Trump touted the record rebound in stocks and trumpeted the US economy’s outlook in a tweet on Wednesday night.
• “I feel more and more confident that our economy is in the early stages of coming back very strong,” he tweeted. “Next year will be one of the best ever, and look at the Stock Market NOW!”
• The president’s tweet comes as nationwide protests continue and the coronavirus pandemic weighs on growth and employment.
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President Donald Trump cheered the record stock-market rally and predicted the US economy will rebound within months in a tweet on Wednesday night, even as nationwide protests march on and the coronavirus pandemic weighs on growth and employment.

“I feel more and more confident that our economy is in the early stages of coming back very strong,” he tweeted. “Not everyone agrees with me, but I have little doubt.”

“Watch for September, October, November,” Trump continued. “Next year will be one of the best ever, and look at the Stock Market NOW!”

Read more: A proprietary Bank of America indicator points to 20%-plus gains in the stock market over the next year. Here’s what the firm recommends buying now ahead of the rally.

Trump’s bullish tweet comes after domestic gross domestic product declined by an annualized 5% in the first quarter of this year, after climbing 2.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Moreover, upwards of 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the last three months, after authorities shut non-essential businesses and issued stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has killed north of 100,000 people across the nation so far.

Most recently, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest systemic racism and police brutality towards black people, sparked by the police-involved killing of George Floyd in May.

Trump himself has reacted aggressively to the protests, threatening on Monday to deploy the military on the streets,and calling governors of impacted states “weak” for their handling of the demonstrations.

Read more: A $40 billion wealth-management firm says the US economy is only 19% recovered from the pandemic — and lays out a winning investing strategy in the wake of a massive stock-market rally

Despite that backdrop, the benchmark S&P 500 index has soared a record 40% in the past 50 days, while the Nasdaq closed less than 2% below its all-time high on Wednesday.

The incongruous stock-market rally likely reflects optimism around companies such as Amazon, Peloton, and Zoom if protests, curfews, and a potential second wave of infections lead to people spending more time at home.

It may also be a product of unprecedented government and central-bank support, and a lack of compelling alternatives to equities, experts say.