Don't Let Trump ETFs & Stocks Fool You

President Donald Trump’s pro-growth policies aimed at boosting economic growth, increasing inflation and flooding companies with excess cash and earnings growth are definitely attractive propositions for stock markets. Some sectors – financials, industrials, materials and aerospace & defense – will benefit relatively more from Trump policies.

However, the positives seem to be reversing as Trump’s lofty promises are going empty. After 70 days in the office, Trump seems to have faltered on his promises on almost all fronts, including his top-priority health care reform.

Healthcare

The healthcare bill, American Health Care Act, his first major legislative move, collapsed after it failed to garner votes from Congress Republicans. While the move benefited hospital stocks, it took a toll on health insurers. UnitedHealth UNHAnthem ANTM and Cigna CI are among the worst hit that saw their shares surge since the election in the anticipation of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. UNH has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) while the other two stocks have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Given this, SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF XHS and iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF IHF are on investors’ radar. Both funds carry a Zacks Rank #3. Health care has a dismal Sector Rank in the bottom 38%.

Financials

The financial sector moved up dramatically on hopes of the scaling back of the Dodd-Frank Act which prevents banks from taking excessive risks. However, the collapse of the health care reform bill has raised worries over Trump’s ability to deliver on his other promises. In particular, bank stocks and ETFs will be in deep trouble if Trump fails to deliver. Major banks – Bank of America Corporation (BAC - Free Report) Citigroup Inc. (C - Free Report) and SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI - Free Report) – have a Zacks Rank #2 while SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF KREPowerShares KBW Bank Portfolio KBWB and Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF - Free Report) have aZacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The sector also boasts a solid Rank in the top 31%.

Industrials

The industrial sector, having a Zacks Rank in the top 13%, is hogging attention as Trump has promised to spend a trillion dollar on rebuilding highways, bridges, hospital and other U.S. infrastructure. More than two months into his presidency, these plans are yet to show any sign of materializing. That said, surging top-ranked stocks such as Century Aluminum Company CENXAlcoa Corp. AAParker-Hannifin Corporation PH and First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF AIRR will be on investors’ radar over the coming months. CENX has a Zacks Rank #2 while others have a Zacks Rank #1.

Materials

The materials sector got a bump from recovering commodity prices as Trump vowed to revive U.S. manufacturing and rehabilitate the country’s aging infrastructure. In particular, PowerShares S&P SmallCap Materials Fund PSCM and VanEck Vectors Steel ETF (SLX - Free Report) are likely to be the biggest winners in the ETF world. ArcelorMittal MTChemours Company (CC - Free Report) and Cosan Limited CZZ are some of the stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 that investors should keep a tab on. Currently, the sector has a solid Zacks Rank in the top 25%. PSCM has a Zacks Rank #3. However, no action has been taken in this regard so far.

Aerospace & Defense

Defense stocks surged on hopes of increased military spending under Trump presidency. The President calls for a 10% or $54 billion boost in military spending with simultaneous cuts in non-defense spending across various government agencies. Congress will have to pass this spending bill latest by April 28, when the regular funding bill for most agencies expires. Failure to do so would add to the political mess, leading to a government shutdown on Trump's 100th day in office. As a result, the future of the defense industry is highly dependent on this proposal.

The sector currently has a solid Rank in the top 40%, with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII - Free Report) and L-3 Communications Holdings (LLL - Free Report) having a Zacks Rank #1 and #2, respectively. Other leading aerospace and defense companies like Boeing (BA - Free Report)Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC - Free Report) and Raytheon Company (RTN - Free Report) have a Zacks Rank #3. Defense ETFs PowerShares Aerospace & Defense Portfolio PPAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF ITA and SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF XAR have a Zacks Rank #1 each.

Trump Administration Full of Flaws

Apart from these, Trump’s next major policy – tax reform – also seems to be in trouble due to the difference in opinion between the Republicans and the White House. Additionally, Trump’s executive order to roll back the Clean Power Plan – Obama's signature climate policy – to curb carbon emissions will likely face legal challenges from environmental groups and Democratic-leaning states such as California and New York.

Further, his repeated effort to suspend entry into the U.S. and banning visas of citizens from seven Muslim-dominated nations – Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen – has been blocked by the courts. Trump’s administration is under investigation and lawmakers are calling for the complete blackout of his agenda over the possible collusion with Russia. Moreover, Trump’s White House is leaking and divided.
    
As such, Trump's outlook has worsened with the approval rating touching the lowest level of 42%, as per the NBC News|SurveyMonkey Poll. About 56% of individuals polled disapprove of the job Trump is doing while 61% respondents (versus 57% a month ago) feel the country is headed in the wrong direction. Trump's net approval rating is now negative 14, down 3 points from negative 11 last month.

Per the new Associated Press-NORC poll, nearly six out of 10 Americans disapprove of what Donald Trump is doing as president. Moreover, Gallup's three-day rolling average poll shows discontent over Trump jumping to 59% from 56% from the previous poll.

Disclosure: None.

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