Guess Which President Has Been Best for Stocks ?

CNBC content made available by kind permission of CNBC.

By: Robert Hum, Giovanny Moreano

Since Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20 2009, all three major U.S. stock indexes are up more than 60 percent. The Nasdaq Composite alone has soared a whopping 105 percent.

Of course, Obama took office following one of the biggest market selloffs in history. From Sept 1, 2008—just before the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered the financial crisis - until Obama's inauguration, the S&P 50 punged 34 percent, with the Dow and Nasdaq making similar declines.

The president also would have to credit Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for much of the recovery. The central bank's quantitative easing, which was launched in reaction to the financial crisis, has pushed interest rates so low that stocks have looked attractive by comparison.

Even so, the market has performed better during Obama's 43 1/2 months in office than in any of the five prior administrations. In fact, the S&P 500 has outperformed most of the major world indexes during his presidency.

S&P 500 Performance during first 43.5 months

1. Barack Obama + 68%

2. George W. Bush  -17%

3. Bill Clinton + 51%

4. Gerge H.W. Bush + 45%

5. Ronald Reagan + 23%

6. Jimmy Carter + 20%

As Goes Apple, So Goes September

Rough Path Ahead? September is Dow’s Worst Month

Source - CNBC.com

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