Off the Charts: Under Obama, Stocks Do Better

President Obama this month became the fifth president to have the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index double from the level when he took office. Through Thursday, more than 52 months since he was inaugurated, the index was up 105 percent, or a compound annual rate of 18%. The latter figure is the highest for any president during the period during which the index has been calculated. Eight of the 10 economic sectors measured by S. & P. have done better, on an annualized basis, under Mr. Obama than under either of his two immediate predecessors. Since Mr. Obama took office, the United States stock market has performed better than markets in the next nine largest economies in the world.