Confidence surged after the U.S. election and reversed in February.

Golden Finance reported that a president usually takes several years to leave his mark on the economy, but Trump did it in just a few weeks. Many companies are optimistic about Trump’s presidency, and the optimistic sentiment rose significantly after the election. However, events after the inauguration weakened this optimism. The S&P 500 index pumped 5% in the first five trading days after the election and then traded sideways. Preliminary results from a small business survey conducted by Vistage Worldwide show a reversal of confidence surge after the U.S. election in February. Wall Street just experienced its quietest January for merger announcements in 10 years. Ethan Cap, CEO of the nonprofit organization Magnet, said, ‘There’s too much chaos. People don’t know where things are going to land. While there are potential long-term benefits in terms of repatriation from tariffs, what’s happening now is just turbulence.’ (The Wall Street Journal)