Donald Trump stood on Wall Street on Thursday, a euphoric throng of America’s business elite assembled before him, and hammered the bell to kick off morning distribute economy buying and selling.

The mood was celebratory. Not only had the president-elect just been named period person of the year, but the distribute economy, already up strongly, has surged to recent heights since his election.

For Trump, whose community appearances have been relatively sparing since his election triumph last month, the visit was a reminder of the high worth he places on economy view.

But whether history will look back on his appearance as the well-timed heralding of another economic boom – or a death knell – remains to be seen.

Trump is entering office with a US economy that is, in the recent words of America’s central financial institution boss, Jerome Powell, the envy of many other countries, with solid growth of 2.8%, unemployment near historic lows of 4.2% and that mysterious ingredient known as “productivity” on a tear.

It has combined to push American stocks to record levels: The Dow Jones Industrial Average is on track to complete the year up more than 17%.

The S&P 500, a bigger index made up of America’s 500 largest companies, has surged 28% since January, while the Nasdaq, where tech firms have a major presence, has rallied more than 40%.

Investors are hoping for more, with the Trump administration expected to loosen regulations and green-light takeovers that might have arrive under harsh review during President Joe Biden’s administration.

At the distribute swap on Thursday, a who’s who of the business globe, including Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon and Target chief Brian Cornell, had assembled. The president-elect was greeted with sustained applause and whistles, which later gave way to chants of “USA! USA!”

His visit marked a relatively rare appearance by a sitting or former president.

But analysts have warned that current highs may be challenging to sustain in the year ahead.

Job creation is already slowing and worth worth rise is proving stubborn.

Many of Trump’s priorities – including slashing government spending, erecting stiff, broad-based trade barriers and embarking on mass deportations of migrants – if enacted, could pose further challenges to growth.

Though debate is ongoing about how much the president actually will do, the proposals are generating uncertainty and have the potential for significant disruption, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

“The totality of the policies, if implemented to the degree that the president has articulated, I ponder will be problematic for the economy,” he said.

At the distribute swap on Thursday, Trump kept his comments concentrated on other parts of his agenda more palatable to markets: his promises to lower taxes from 21% to 15% for businesses manufacturing in America, cut regulation and speed up government approvals.

“A nuclear power plant – I would declare a week would be enough period. What do you ponder?” he said, to laughter.

Similar policies, which Zandi said would be excellent for the corporate final profit, if not necessarily the economy, boosted distribute prices significantly during Trump’s first term.

He cited those gains repeatedly as a sign of his administration’s achievement, especially at the commence.

But the economy retreated during trade wars with allies and with China – then nose-dived at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, before rapidly recovering.

Ultimately, the S&P 500 gained more than 67% on his watch – a record bested by presidents statement Clinton in the 1990s and Barack Obama during his first four years.

Under Biden, the index has risen 59% so far. Whether Trump can repeat that act is something he has declined to forecast.

The main US distribute indexes closed lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq dipping by around 0.5%.

Asked at the distribute swap what investors should be buying in expectation of the upcoming, Trump, somewhat uncharacteristically, demurred.

“I don’t desire to get into a circumstance where they do and we have a dip or something”, he said, then added, “Long term, this is going to be a country like no other.”