Trump rings Wall Street's opening bells as he ties his presidency to stock market gains

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday rang the opening bells for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq from the golden confines of the Oval Office, a symbolic act that reflects how he has increasingly tied his presidency to the stock market.

With high inflation hurting Trump's popularity, the Republican president has tried to get more Americans to focus on their 401(k) investments, claiming that his policies should get the credit for any gains, particularly as the November midterm elections draw closer.

“It’s going to go up — I think the market’s going to go through the roof,” said Trump after formally launching the start of trading.

Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s economic leadership, according to a June survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Still, the act of ringing the opening bell suggests why the president’s emphasis on the stock market might not help his party much with voters this fall.

The Oval Office event was promoting the launch of Trump Accounts, which were created as a vehicle for children to have investments in stock indexes as part of Republicans' big 2025 tax and spending cuts bill.

In championing the accounts, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has emphasized that many Americans have no direct exposure to stocks.

This means that millions of people are not benefiting from investments that largely accrue to more affluent households or that the benefits they’re receiving are for retirements decades away.

Bessent declared before the bell ringing that “38% of American families do not have any exposure to our great equity markets.”

The S&P 500 stock index posted gains of 17.9% in 2025, but that came after annual returns of 25% in 2024 and 26.3% in 2023, during the presidency of Democrat Joe Biden. The benchmark stock index has risen roughly 10% so far this year.

But just as inflation crushed public support for Biden, Trump has also seen his approval fall prey to a cycle of rising prices. Trump won the 2024 election by promising to bring down costs, but his tariffs and the start of the war in Iran created new inflationary pressures.

The consumer price index has climbed 4.2% over the past 12 months, up from 3% when Trump started his second term in January 2025.

Trump, however, is betting that the stock investments that are being seeded by the government and by some prominent companies and billionaires will give future generations a deeper stake in the U.S. economy. The accounts already have gotten a boost from billionaires beyond the $1,000 from the government.

Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan, appeared by Trump on Monday as they have pledged $6.25 billion for the accounts, while there have been separate pledges by billionaires including investor Ray Dalio and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, who said Monday that she would donate stock in the Elon Musk-led company to the accounts.

Trump jokingly acknowledged that children had missed the stock market gains that have occurred so far because of the delay in launching the Trump Accounts.

“We should have acted faster,” Trump said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks before President Donald Trump rings the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump rings the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump speaks before ringing the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stands at the podium. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump rings the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq markets in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump speaks after ringing the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump rings the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump rings the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Hamas militant group said Monday it had dissolved its government in Gaza and is preparing to transfer power to a technical committee backed by the United Nations as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal.

Hamas did not say whether it planned to take the crucial step of disarming or handing over security to an international force, but described its decision as evidence of its commitment to Gaza’s reconstruction after years of war.

It was unclear if the move, announced by a lower-level official, would lead to any meaningful change on the ground.

The Board of Peace, the new entity led by President Donald Trump with the mandate of governing and rebuilding Gaza, said it was aware of the Hamas announcement but said it would assess the impact based on “actions, not promises.” The board stressed in a statement on X that the technocratic committee must control all weapons in Gaza, as laid out in the ceasefire agreement.

At a news conference Monday, Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run Government Media Office, said “only technical and professional staff” would remain in their positions to run the Palestinian enclave’s day-to-day affairs.

“All employees working in service provision are ‘state employees’ and are fully prepared to work under the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza,” al-Thawabta said during a news conference in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem called it “a positive step forward on the path to implement the ceasefire deal.”

Israel dismissed the announcement as irrelevant. “The alleged resignation of the Hamas government, where all of the Hamas members stay in their positions, is a spin that has no significance,” an Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The committee of technocrats, which is based in Cairo, is chaired by Ali Shaath, a Gaza-born engineer and former official with the Palestinian Authority. It has a mandate to restore essential services and oversee civilian affairs under the supervision of the U.N. and Board of Peace.

In a statement on X, Shaath acknowledged the Hamas announcement Monday and said that in order for the committee to function effectively, there must be “a single governing authority operating under one legal framework” and “a unified security apparatus accountable to that authority.”

Nine months after the ceasefire was signed, negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Hamas has insisted on implementing the first phase before moving to discuss its weapons.

The Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 others taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed 73,098 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

Israeli strikes have lessened considerably since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, but they continue almost daily. Israel’s military says it targets Hamas and other militants, often asserting they were planning attacks.

On Monday, Israeli strikes killed at least five people in Gaza, including three in Khan Younis in the south and two in an apartment in Gaza City, health officials said.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas operative in the Gaza City strike and a militant from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the attacks in Khan Younis.

Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed.

Palestinians look at a destroyed car following an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026, that, according to hospital officials, killed at least one person. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)

Palestinians look at a destroyed car following an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026, that, according to hospital officials, killed at least one person. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)

Palestinians look at a destroyed car following an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026, that, according to hospital officials, killed at least one person. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)

Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run government media office, center right, speaks during a press conference at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run government media office, speaks during a press conference at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)