- Markets rose on earnings and AI, while Trump tried to invoice himself for daylight.
- Tariff drama and oil shocks turned Trump’s market triumph into a wobbling sales pitch.
- Wall Street liked calmer headlines, not policy whiplash dressed up as economic genius.
President Donald Trump tied his stock market claim to U.S. strength during the Iran crisis. Yet market data on April 10 showed a more mixed picture. The S&P 500 closed at 6,816.89, but it still sat 0.4% lower for 2026 and below its late-January record. The benchmark remained higher than it was before Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Even so, the recent rally leaned on factors beyond politics, including corporate earnings, artificial intelligence enthusiasm, and expectations for easier monetary policy. Those drivers were noted when the S&P 500 crossed 7,000 for the first time on January 28.
That contrast shaped the reaction to Trump’s post. Supporters pointed to broad gains since his return. Critics, meanwhile, focused on the gap between the boast and the index’s year-to-date decline. The split reflected a market that remained strong over a longer stretch but unsettled in the short term.
Rally Claims Clash With Market Drivers
Strategists saw tariffs as the market’s “biggest known unknown.” The same view said policy noise mattered less than what was “fundamentally happening,” especially earnings. That view placed corporate results ahead of political messaging in explaining the market’s rise.
That framing matters because Trump’s claim suggested a direct line between his leadership and the market’s performance. Reports pointed elsewhere. Strategists said earnings growth and business fundamentals carried more weight, while tariff uncertainty threatened to disrupt that support.
Could a president claim full credit for gains when strategists pointed to earnings, AI optimism, and Fed expectations instead? The question gained force because the market had already shown it could rally on improving sentiment and retreat on policy risk.
Related: Trump’s Iran Script Leaves JD Vance Holding the Bucket Alone
Iran Tensions Return to the Center
The Iran conflict added another test. On April 7, markets staged a relief rally after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire. Oil dropped below $95, while global stocks climbed as investors hoped pressure on energy flows would ease.
That move reversed quickly. After talks collapsed over the weekend, Brent crude climbed 7.3% to about $102 on April 13. Stocks wobbled again as traders weighed a U.S. blockade on Iranian shipping and the inflation risks that higher energy prices could bring.
The swings left Trump’s market victory lap exposed to a harder reality. Gains followed hopes of de-escalation, while losses returned when the conflict threatened supply routes again. The pattern showed how quickly geopolitical decisions could reshape the same market Trump held up as proof of success.
Wall Street Warnings Add Pressure
Big institutions also turned more cautious. On April 7, UBS cut its 2026 S&P 500 targets because the Middle East conflict had lifted oil prices and raised economic uncertainty. The bank still backed U.S. equities, but it lowered both its mid-year and year-end targets.
Jamie Dimon delivered a similar warning. The JPMorgan chief said the Iran war could rekindle inflation and keep interest rates higher for longer. That risk would weigh on equities even if earnings stayed resilient.
By April 13, the market message looked clear. Trump’s boast landed against a backdrop of year-to-date slippage, renewed oil shocks, and policy-driven uncertainty. The numbers did not erase the market’s longer-term gains, but they did complicate any claim that the rally belonged to one man alone.
