WASHINGTON (AP): President Donald Trump officially opened Monday’s trading session for both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq from the Oval Office, marking the launch of a new investment program created under the Republican-backed tax and spending package signed into law earlier this year.

Trump rang the ceremonial opening bells remotely before expressing confidence in the nation’s financial outlook.

“I think the market’s going to go through the roof,” the president said following the event.

The ceremony highlighted the debut of Trump Accounts, a new investment program designed to help children begin building long-term savings through stock market index investments.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the initiative is intended to encourage more Americans to participate in the financial markets, noting that many households currently have little or no exposure to stock investments.

“Thirty-eight percent of American families do not have any exposure to our great equity markets,” Bessent said during the event.

The S&P 500 posted a gain of 17.9% in 2025, following annual returns of 25% in 2024 and 26.3% in 2023. The benchmark index has risen roughly 10% so far this year.

Trump said he believes the new accounts will help future generations build wealth by giving young Americans an early stake in the U.S. economy. He also joked that the program could have launched sooner, saying children had missed out on some of the market’s recent gains because of the delay.

The Trump Accounts were created as part of the 2025 tax and spending legislation and are intended to provide eligible children with investment accounts tied to broad stock market indexes.