Trump Trade: President says Iran war will still take weeks

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly.

WAR ON IRAN: President Donald Trump addressed the nation last night. The speech focused on the conflict with Iran, with Trump emphasizing continued military action over the coming weeks rather than de-escalation. Crude prices surged back above $100 and pushed toward $110 as fears continue to grow over sustained interruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

DEFENSE CONTRACTOR SECTOR: The Middle East conflict promises to inject additional cash into the defense contractor sector as the U.S. and its allies look to refill their weapon stockpiles, Sylvia Pfiefer, Christian Davies, and Steff Chavex of The Financial Times report. In Washington, the Trump admin is planning to request Congress for $1.5T in defense spending for the year, with the Pentagon asking the White House to submit a request to Congress for an extra $200B to help fund the war in Iran at the same time. While there is no certainty these requests will be approved, it is clear the war has depleted stockpiles of America’s missile and air defense systems built by RTX (RTX) and Lockheed Martin (LMT).

PHARMACEUTICAL TARIFFS: The Trump administration is preparing 100% tariffs on certain imported medicines, targeting companies that have not committed to increasing U.S. manufacturing, The Financial Times’ Aime Williams reports. The move follows earlier threats to impose such levies on branded or patented drugs, while companies including Pfizer (PFE), AstraZeneca (AZN), and Novo Nordisk (NVO) have secured exemptions by pledging greater U.S. investment and price reductions. Other publicly traded companies in the space include Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY).

DRUG PRICING DEALS INTO LAW: Eli Lilly opposes the White House’s push to codify “most favored nation” drug pricing into law, CEO Dave Ricks said in an interview with CNBC. Lilly is one of more than a dozen drugmakers that signed deals with the Trump administration last year agreeing to charge similar prices for prescription drugs in the U.S. as other wealthy nations, CNBC’s Angelica Peebles notes. “When you throw it into the congressional process, what goes in is not what’s going to come out,” Ricks said. Ricks said he thinks the Trump administration and leadership on the Hill are listening to the company’s concerns, but he said Lilly will use “all the tools we have to combat bad policy, and we think it would be bad policy.”

STEEL/ALUMINUM TARIFF: Trump administration is set to modify duties on imported steel and aluminum finished products to help simplify compliance with a 25% tariff, the Wall Street Journal’s Gavin Bade and Bob Tita report, citing people with knowledge of the plans. The 25% tariff would apply to the entire value of a finished product containing steel and aluminum and replace the current 50% duty, which only applies to the value of steel or aluminum used in a product, which could effectively raise costs for many imports, the report stated. Publicly traded companies in the Steel space include ArcelorMittal (MT), Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Nucor (NUE), Steel Dynamics (STLD) and U.S. Steel (X). Public companies in Aluminum include Alcoa (AA), Century Aluminum (CENX), and Kaiser Aluminum (KALU).