Few exchange traded funds were as positively correlated to the idea of a Donald Trump presidency as was the VanEck Vectors Steel ETF (NYSEArca: SLX), which was one of 2016’s best-performing non-leveraged ETFs.
Donald Trump in the White House is widely seen as a catalyst for the steel industry. During the campaign, Trump proposed significant infrastructure spending as an avenue for boosting the U.S. economy. If those plans see the light of day, SLX and steel stocks could benefit. However, it is widely believed the Trump infrastructure plan will be pushed back to 2018, news that has disappointed investors to start 2017.
SLX tries to reflect the performance of the NYSE Arca Steel Index, which follows global companies involved in the steel industry. Though it is up more than 6% year-to-date, SLX is lower by 7.6% over the past month.
There are other near-term concerns for steel stocks.