Investors took bets ahead of the election with sector exchange traded funds in coal, clean energy, healthcare and other industries. Now with President Barack Obama securing his second term, the market’s attention is back on the fiscal cliff and the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts.
In a research note, S&P Capital IQ Chief Equity Strategist, Sam Stovall, highlighted the election’s impact on the energy, financial and health care sectors.
The Obama administration has taken a broad stance on U.S. energy needs, except it will likely maintain an anti-coal attitude. [Four ETFs for an Oil Rebound]
“We believe it is more accurate to say that the U.S. has no energy policy,” Stovall wrote in the note. “The official position is to be in favor of everything – more drilling, yet also more clean energy, which is effectively the same as prioritizing nothing.”
- Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLE)
- Vanguard Energy ETF (NYSEArca: VDE)
- PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (NYSEArca: PBW)
- Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF (NYSEArca: GEX)
In the financial sector, most borrowers are waiting on the outcome of the fiscal cliff. Meanwhile, the QE3 mortgage-backed securities buying program is pressuring interest rates in banks’ investment portfolios. [Obama Victory, Fiscal Cliff Cloud Financial ETFs]