Trump's State of the Union address highlighted his year-one milestones, including tax reform, expanded defense budget, and stock market performance. Ben Phillips, Chief Investment Officer at EventShares, was with us to discuss how the speech could impact markets.
Stocks rebounded from a 2-day sell-off the day after President Trump delivered his speech. Phillips says his tone was more presidential, and the markets were responding positively. Phillips highlighted tax reform as a catalyst for more gains for the year ahead, saying it is a major boost to many corporations.
President Trump called on Congress for a bill that raises $1.5 billion on infrastructure. EventShares created the first-ever policy driven portfolios. Phillips gave insight into which stocks could benefit based off policies from the GOP and Democrats. Phillips also said he was concerned stocks could be hitting a top.
Stocks dipped Friday morning after the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury crossed 5% for the first time in 16 years and also following Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that inflation remains too high and that bringing it down to the Fed's target level will likely require a slower-growing economy and job market.