Flying in the face of doomsayers’ predictions, markets have soared since the election of US President Donald Trump. The largest economy in the world is doing well, with the unemployment rate at almost record lows. But how long will it take for Trump’s planned infrastructure improvement programme to get off the ground? And which stocks are expected to be winners over the next few years?
The mighty Trump reflation trade has propelled world stock markets ever higher since Donald Trump’s surprising win in the US presidential elections. Prices of metals and other raw materials have soared; the US dollar has gained impressive strength; US and European markets have been hitting record high after record high; US bond yields have fallen sharply; and most emerging markets and emerging-market currencies have traded to 19-month highs.
Risk appetite is most certainly back in markets, along with a hefty number of very high expectations. By the time this article is published, though, the entire game may have changed and the Trump reflation trade may already have come to an end. This doesn’t seem very helpful, especially in retrospect, although perhaps it serves as a testament to how uncertain world markets are about what to expect from the Trump administration. A bit more on that later, though. In true Trump style, the details are not to be revealed yet.
Most of Trump’s rhetoric during his election campaign was centred on “making America great again”. Something that the market is now expecting him to deliver on. So much so that the S&P 500 has made several records, including 17 record-high closes and a rally of around 12%, adding more than $2.8tr in value to US markets since Trump’s election win. This is truly an enormous reaction, and one that the new president is only too happy to take the credit for. But what has he really done so far?
Soaring stocks
This story is from the 9 March 2017 edition of Finweek English.
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This story is from the 9 March 2017 edition of Finweek English.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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