What else is behind the Trump stock rally
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The S&P 500 has surged 5.4% since election day. It's the "Trump Rally."
But a closer look at the individual companies that are driving the stock market surge, and broader economic data, paint a more complicated picture:
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Data: Money.net; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios
Sure, investors like what Trump's saying: Corporate tax cuts, less regulation, and infrastructure spending will all be good for corporate profits. But Trump is not the only game in the global economy.
Other drivers of the rally include:
- A stronger dollar: While this hurts multinationals who do business in foreign countries, a stronger dollar generally means that American companies are more valuable relative to foreign assets.
- Signs of life abroad: China has long-term problems, but the government there has been able to prop up growth for the time being. Even Europe is perking up, with Germany announcing this month that 2016 growth was the fastest in five years.
- Agriculture companies: They're benefiting from being oversold in 2015 and 2016 out of fears of a global slowdown. But developing economies have kept their heads above water, and everyone's gotta eat.
