Dow Closes Below 20K, Wiping Out All Gains Since Trump Inauguration

The Dow Jones industrial average closed below 20,000 Wednesday for the first time since shortly after President Donald Trump took office, as the coronavirus-inspired drop of the last week erased more than three years of gains on the president's watch.

The Dow closed Wednesday at 19,898.92, down more than 6%, amid talk of the need for government bailouts to prop up industries and potentially the economy as broad segments of the country shut down in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.

That put the stock index back roughly where it was as Trump took office. The Dow closed at 19,827, on Jan. 20, 2017, the day Trump was inaugurated. A few days later, it would break above 20,000 for the first time, continuing the long bull run that started after the 2008 recession and finally ended a week ago.

The Dow fell into a bear market on March 11, shortly after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

Trump has considered the stock market's success during his term in office as a key measure of his own success as president, having touted the market's rise as evidence he is doing a good job. Trump routinely tweets about the market when it rises and as recently as last month pointed out that it was the highest it has ever been.

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