Trump + Stocks: The Week In Review, Feb. 10
The controversial executive order regarding immigration continued to make headlines, with more than a hundred companies supporting a brief against President Trump's refugee ban. Meanwhile, CEOs of Intel (INTC) and several major airlines met with Donald Trump to discuss the economy. Also in the spotlight this week was Nordstrom (JWN) after the President criticized the company for dropping his daughter Ivanka's clothing line.
BRIEF OPPOSING REFUGEE BAN: According to reports early in the week, several major technology companies -- including Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), Alphabet's Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Twitter (TWTR), Microsoft (MSFT), and Yahoo (YHOO) -- were said to be planning to send a letter to President Donald Trump urging his administration to follow through on proposed changes to a travel ban on seven mainly Muslim nations. Meanwhile, a total of 127 companies filed briefs with a federal appellate court saying Trump's ban on refugees and travelers from those predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. hurts their businesses.
COGNIZANT: On Monday, Oppenheimer analyst Glenn Greene voiced concern over the new U.S. administration's recent immigration and visa policies and their potential impact on information technology services firm Cognizant (CTSH), noting that more than half of the company's U.S.-based employees are on visas.
DRUG MAKERS: Shares of some major pharmaceutical and biotech companies dipped after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer appeared to hint during a Tuesday briefing that President Trump is in favor of negotiating drug prices. Asked to clarify whether Trump was in favor of the Medicare department negotiating drug prices, Spicer added, "He's for it, yes. Absolutely... The easier way to look at this is what other countries have done: Negotiating costs to keep those down."
INTEL: On Wednesday, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich met with President Trump in the White House, where he announced a $7B investment in an Arizona plant that will employee 3,000 workers.
NORDSTROM: In a tweet, Donald Trump criticized Nordstrom, stating that his daughter Ivanka "has been treated so unfairly" by the department store operator. In response, the company said its decision to not buy Ivanka Trump's line for this season is based on "business results" and "was not a political decision."
TWITTER: Earlier this week, BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield upgraded Twitter to Buy as he believes its daily active user growth is accelerating, particularly in the U.S., following the presidential election. Calling him the "Twitter President," the analyst noted that Trump's Twitter use is helping drive engagement higher.
U.S. AIRLINES: On Thursday, President Donald Trump met with the CEOs of several major U.S. airlines - including Delta Air Lines (DAL), United (UAL), JetBlue (JBLU), Southwest (LUV), and Alaska Air (ALK) - in the White House to discuss the industry's role in his promise to promote job growth and accelerate the economy. During the sit down, Trump announced he would make a "phenomenal" tax announcement in a few weeks.
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR: Barclays analyst Scott Davis told investors in a research noted that while he had high expectations for companies like General Electric (GE), Danaher (DHR), Honeywell (HON), Emerson (EMR), Illinois Tool Works (ITW), Dover (DOV), Rockwell Collins (COL), and WW Grainger (GWW) when he started covering the sector in 2001, the last decade has turned out to be irrelevant for Industrials, which led to a lack of investor interest and a preference for avoidance. However, the analyst argued that with President Trump's administration focusing on the need to revitalize American manufacturing, the Industrial sector may be entering into a "golden age," helped by protectionism and new tax policies.
"Trump + Stocks" is weekly recap of its recurring series of "Trump Effect" exclusive stories that highlight stocks that are being impacted, or are predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Trump and his administration.
Disclosure: None.
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