Stocks defy tariffs, DeepSeek turmoil in Trump 2.0 to post best presidential start since 2013

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It has been a turbulent two weeks for the stock market since Donald Trump took the oath as the 45th president of the United States.

plans for applying tariffs.

Earlier this week, over $590 billion in Nvidia Corp's market capitalization was eliminated on Monday.

A blogger who contributed to a massive drop in Nvidia's stock price of about $600 billion, also triggering a panic in Silicon Valley.

Despite this, the S&P 500 index rose more than 0.7% on trading days following Inauguration Day. This was the highest gain for the S&P 500's first nine trading days of a presidency since then-President Barack Obama began his second term in 2013, based on data from Dow Jones Market Data (see below table).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.4% at the start of Trump's second term, also recording its best upward trend over the first nine trading days since 2013. Nevertheless, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite remained basically unchanged since Inauguration Day, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Investors' attitude has been that "any market drop is seen as a chance to buy, and any upward trend should be followed," according to Steve Sosnick, Interactive Brokers' chief strategist.

Investors still feel "invulnerable" as a prolonged bull run, which has lasted over two years, stays on track. As a result, they're willing to brush off concerns and remain optimistic about the broad outlook of President Trump's policy plans, including deregulation and planned tax cuts, Sosnick said during a phone conversation with on Friday.

The proposal has faced criticism from other government branches, but it has already had a significant impact on people's lives in the U.S. and around the world, despite causing relatively muted market reactions so far.

During his first nine days in office, the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, and the Nasdaq climbed 1.9% over the same period, as shown by the data from Dow Jones Market Data.

Tariffs to begin being imposed on Saturday on Canada, Mexico, and China. Here's why these tariffs may be "just the warm-up."

Tariffs are expected to go into effect on February 1, from the US' biggest trading partners, Canada, Mexico, and China, as stated by the White House's press secretary. US Treasury yields rose to their highest closing price in a week as a result.

A managing director at Bel Air Investment Advisors, Carl Ludwigson, commented that tariffs will likely be the most influential policy tool affecting the market in the near future, as high interest rates may limit the growth of stock prices, which are already at a high level compared to historical averages. If tariffs, labor availability, and budget deficits push up long-term interest rates that fund the economy, this could be the case, particularly.

As a result, it will be earnings growth, not valuations, that could potentially drive upside in the stock market this year, he stated in an email commentary on Friday.

Investing in the stock market can be costly, but there are less-explored areas that may offer the best opportunities.

US stocks ended lower on Friday after regaining earlier gains as the White House confirmed that the Trump administration was planning to introduce new tariffs on Saturday. The S&P 500 closed 0.5% lower, while the Nasdaq fell 0.3% and the Dow dropped 0.8% based on data from FactSet.

Market observers like Mark Hackett, Nationwide's chief market strategist, point out that the tariff announcement doesn't seem to have unsettled investors, despite the stock market's decline in late trading Friday. "A lot of nervousness exists among investors, but so far they're not reacting by panicking or selling stocks - instead, they're being cautious but not emotional" in their response to Trump's tariff proposal, Hackett said in a phone interview with Friday.

“The experience we all had eight years ago was that everyone took everything from the White House extremely seriously. But this time, investors are applying some of the tactics from 'The Art of the Deal,' which was written by Trump in the '80s,” Hackett noted.

Friday also marked the last day of a tumultuous January on Wall Street, with three major indexes still posting strong gains for the month, as the S&P 500 jumped 2.7% and the Nasdaq rose 1.6%. The Dow also experienced a significant increase, rising 4.7% according to FactSet's numbers.