Trump victory brings highs, lows
Donald Trump’s stunning victory is already creating winners and losers in markets and governments around the world. Many changes will play out slowly. Others took little time to manifest. Here are some:
WINNERS
Private prisons: Corrections Corp. of America was up as much as 60 per cent in intraday trading, and the GEO Group Inc. climbed as much as 35 per cent on speculation Trump will use existing private lockups to detain immigrants.
Defence contractors: Trump pledged to bolster U.S. defence spending. Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co. posted the biggest share gains since the financial crisis. “Defence gives investors a place to put their cash — it’s a safe haven,” said Richard Aboulafia, a Fairfax, Virginia-based analyst with Teal Group.
Coal: Trump’s election breathed fresh life into an industry struggling with debt and the worst price slump in decades. Coal tycoon Robert Murray said in a statement that the election marked a “great day for America” and he looked forward to a national policy that puts all energy sources on a level playing field.
Oil and natural gas drillers: Remember 2008’s “Drill, baby, drill”? Trump, who’s bullish on fracking, has pledged to roll back regulations and open more federal land to extraction industries.
Steelmakers: U.S. Steel Corp. and Nucor Corp. soared as Trump’s promise to favour American manufacturers led investors to believe that domestic prices for the metal will increase. Nucor gained the most in more than seven years; U.S. Steel climbed more than 20 per cent.
LOSERS
Climate change: Trump promises to pull the U.S. from international climate agreements. He says he’ll shred President Barack Obama’s greenhouse-gas policies and gut the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Canada has numerous climate projects with the U.S. — now they’re in limbo.
Mexican peso: The currency was headed to its biggest drop in more than two decades as angst swept across a country that was often the focus of Trump’s harsh campaign rhetoric. For President Enrique Pena Nieto, the outcome was particularly painful. His popularity sank to record lows in August after he invited the Republican nominee to a meeting in Mexico City that turned into an embarrassing exchange of angry words. On Wednesday, Pena Nieto took to Twitter to say he’s ready to work with Trump.
Renewable energy: Denmarkbased Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s biggest builder of wind turbines, fell as much as 13 per cent, while solar companies took a hammering.
Mergers and acquisitions: Trump has vowed to block AT&T Inc.’s $85.4-billion deal for Time Warner Inc. — the largest transaction announced this year — calling it “poison” to democracy. A survey by Intralinks Holdings Inc. before the election showed that 56 per cent of global deal-making executives said Trump would be bad for M&A.
Aircraft deals: Trump’s ascension raised doubts about the sales and leases of as many as 230 Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE jetliners to Iranian carriers. Renewed trade restrictions could unravel the transactions, valued at an estimated $17.6 billion for Boeing and $27 billion for Airbus, based on list prices.