The Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLB) and other materials exchange traded funds are extending bullishness that started last year. Much of the enthusiasm for the sector is being tied to President Donald and his various plans for improved infrastructure and border security.
President Donald Trump’s has reiterated his plan to build a wall along the Mexican border, reinforcing construction and materials-related exchange traded funds. Additionally, materials ETFs are seen as beneficiaries of Trump’s ambitious $1 trillion infrastructure spending plan.
Rivals to XLB include Vanguard Materials ETF (NYSEArca: VAW) and Fidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF (NYSEArca: FMAT).
Additionally, the Guggenheim S&P Equal Weight Materials ETF (NYSEArca: RTM), which equally weights components and includes a larger tilt toward smaller U.S. companies, holds larger tilts toward construction materials sub-sector.
“BK Asset Management’s Boris Schlossberg believes Trump is going to make good on his promises in spending on a wall and on infrastructure nationally,” according to CNBC. “Interestingly enough, one of the stocks in the materials space that could benefit from such spending would be Cemex, a Mexican cement and building materials manufacturer, Schlossberg noted.”