Trump's efforts in the U.S. midterm elections trigger policy uncertainty, and the US stock market faces unresolved policy risks

BlockBeats News, January 14 — Ned Davis Research’s Chief U.S. Strategist Ed Clissold plans to create a new term — Big MAC trading, an abbreviation for “Big Midterms Are Coming.” He intends to use this concept to summarize what he sees as the core theme of the U.S. stock market in 2026: the policy directions and their impacts surrounding the upcoming fall congressional elections.

U.S. President Trump has issued a series of policy-like statements at the beginning of the year, enough to indicate that Trump is focusing on boosting the Republican Party’s chances in the November elections, with policies targeting the widely discussed issue of American “affordable living.” This trend could have a profound impact on the stock market. For example, last week’s market performance saw Trump demand credit card issuers set interest rate caps at 10% — less than half the current average rate, causing bank stocks to plummet; after he ordered defense contractors to suspend dividend payments and reinvest in production, the defense sector also suffered heavy losses; and following recent government criticism of the Federal Reserve’s independence, Wall Street was plunged into panic on Monday.

Clissold wrote in his report: “Before the midterms, policy adjustments targeting specific industries will become a major risk,” and the market is currently unsure how to hedge against such risks. (Jin10)