Trump to Ring Opening Bell on Wall Street’s NYSE for First Time

Former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa., on Oct. 26, 2024. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump will mark the ceremonial start of trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Dec. 12 by ringing the opening bell, The Epoch Times has learned.

The planned ringing of the opening bell, which had not been officially announced by the time of this article’s reporting, will be a high-profile event for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who left the city during his presidency to establish residency in Florida.

Trump’s return to New York will likely garner significant attention, as did former President Ronald Reagan’s ringing of the opening bell, which in 1985 marked the first time that a sitting U.S. president performed the ceremonial gesture. While the president-elect’s wife, former and future first lady Melania Trump, performed the honor during her husband’s first term in office to promote her “Be Best” initiative, it will be a first for Donald Trump.

Plans for the ceremony follow a significant post-election surge in U.S. stock markets, reflecting investor optimism over Donald Trump’s economic policies.

On Nov. 5, the benchmark S&P 500 experienced its best day in nearly two years, rallying by 2.5 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,508 points, or 3.6 percent. The Nasdaq composite also posted impressive gains, contributing to record-breaking highs across all three Wall Street indexes. Market analysts widely attribute the rally to expectations of pro-business policies under the incoming Trump administration, including lower taxes and deregulation.

During his first term as president, Trump often touted the stock market’s performance as a barometer of his administration’s success, a theme likely to continue as he prepares to take office once more. Ringing the opening bell will provide Trump with an opportunity to reinforce his promises of economic growth and prosperity. He has made a number of economic proposals as part of his wide-ranging agenda, alongside a crackdown on illegal immigration and a focus on law and order.

Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump pledged to curb federal regulations that he said limit the creation of new U.S. jobs. He has vowed to uphold the 2017 tax cuts signed during his first term and proposed additional rounds of tax reductions. Notably, Trump has promised to lower the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 15 percent for companies manufacturing in the United States. In a nod to voters in service industries, he proposed eliminating taxes on tips and overtime wages.

Tariffs also play a significant role in Trump’s economic vision. He has floated the idea of a universal 10 percent tariff on all imports and pledged higher tariffs on nations imposing tariffs on U.S. goods. China is a primary target, with plans to phase out Chinese imports of critical goods over four years and restrict Chinese ownership of U.S. infrastructure in the energy and technology sectors.

In addition to tax and trade policies, Trump aims to expand domestic energy production. He has promised to cut federal drilling regulations, expedite permitting and trim environmental reviews for major energy projects, and reopen the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for exploration. These measures, according to Trump, would reduce energy costs and inflation while restoring the low gasoline prices seen during his first term.