Are there any real investors actually left in this market or is it a bunch of buybacks and light trading fueling the market now?
Politicians don't really move stock markets but if they did Obama's a genius he presided over one of the strongest bull markets in our lifetime. In fact, if stock markets were a gauge you'd elect Democrats all the time ( the stats don't lie ). Trump claims everything good is because of him and pretends the bad stuff is somebody else's fault. He does this all the time. His latest Wiki comments suggest he's got Alzheimer's disease but I believe it's all an act and he knows exactly what he's doing, bald face lying to appease his supporters. The US is enriching it's corporations at the expense of it's people. Trump has accelerated this. So it's not surprising that stock markets went up because they represent the supposed health of the corporate world ( not the health of the country ). Certainly if one remains heavily invested in the markets you can participate in that success. However, I do wonder how many Americans cannot afford to share in this prosperity, and observe since 2009 that even traders seem to have a propensity to short or under invest in said markets. So I'm not sure how it's worked out for the middle class and it sure as hell isn't working out for the lower classes.
Do you think most Americans are fully invested in the markets since 2009 or are many people sitting it out in whole or in part ? Why are so many traders on this site ( some who presumably are also heavy investors ) almost constantly have a negative bias on US stock markets ? It just feels to me that the American system is unfairly rigged to enrich richer people. A stronger stock market without stronger pay from jobs just makes it worse. However, if everyone's getting great jobs and huge raises now congrats it's all working out; then you just need to fix your social systems and pay off some of the federal debt.