S&P 500 on track for strongest first 100 trading days in election year ever

It would apparently be a surprise to nearly half of American adults, but one of the U.S. stock market’s major benchmarks is on track to post its strongest 100-day start to an election year on record.

With Thursday marking the 100th trading day of 2024, the S&P 500 SPX is up 11.6% so far this year — its best first-100-day performance since 2021, when it rose 11.7% over the same stretch, according to Dow Jones Market Data.