The Trump trade looks dead
We're nearly 100 days into Trump's presidency, and the campaign promises of infrastructure spending, tighter restrictions on trade, and lower taxes have yet to materialize.
Additionally, Trump's first major legislative push, the American Health Care Act, failed to garner enough support among Republicans and was pulled from the House floor minutes before a vote.
The defeat on healthcare has led investors to worry that Trump's dealmaking may not be enough to advance his policies through Congress.
The market has not missed this lack of progress. Sectors that would theoretically benefit from Trump's policies, like industrials, have given back a chunk of their postelection gains, while those that would be hurt, like retail, have recently gotten a boost. These moves appear to be investors telling the president they haven't seen enough progress.
Massive investors like Bridgewater and firms like Bank of America aren't helping matters, having thrown cold water on the idea of a seamless implementation as recently as Wednesday.
Even financials, the golden child of the S&P 500 postelection rally that reached as high as 12%, have faltered of late. The same goes for companies that pay the most taxes. A quick glance at trading over the past couple of weeks shows investors are listening to the heavyweights who are now doubling as stock market naysayers.
Here's a further breakdown of the four areas serving as bellwether indicators for the health of the flagging Trump trade: