Donald Trump hasn’t declawed the FANG stocks for good, it seems.
Stock market investors have recently been caught up in a rally that has become known as the Trump Bump: Stocks have mostly zoomed forward since Trump won the election, putting the Dow Jones industrial average within striking distance of 20,000 for the first time ever.
But there are some notable companies that experienced more of a Trump Dump. That seems to be changing in the early days of 2017.
The Nasdaq has risen nearly 3% in the first five trading days of this year, outpacing both the Dow, up only about 0.7%, and the S&P 500, up 1.5%. Indeed, the Nasdaq was the only major U.S. Stock index to rise Monday, setting a new record high for the third trading day in a row.
The reasons: A number of technology companies that were among some of investors’ most hated stocks in 2016, especially since Trump became president elect, have recently been on a rapid rebound, including Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and Google (GOOGL).
The group of so-called FANG stocks all fell in the wake of Trump’s election late last year (with Facebook stock down more than 7%), leading some high-profile investors such as DoubleLine CEO Jeffrey Gundlach to swear them off entirely.
Now, however, all four companies have more than recovered their post-Trump losses. Facebook stock has already gained nearly 9% in 2017, while shares of Amazon and Netflix are both up more than 6%. Google’s stock is up almost 5% so far this year.
They’re not alone. Nasdaq stocks including Tesla (TSLA) and Yahoo (YHOO) have also kicked off 2017 strong, with Tesla shares returning nearly 8% and Yahoo stock up more than 7%. Chinese tech giant Baidu (BIDU), also listed on the Nasdaq, has gained more than 8% so far this year.
It’s hard to say exactly why the FANG stocks and other tech companies have bounced back so forcefully in early 2017, or if the trend will continue. After all, January stock performance has recently been a poor indicator of how the market will act for the rest of the year.
For now, investors may simply be hoping that President Trump won’t be as bad for tech companies as some had expected. Facebook, for one, has already taken steps to address concerns over fake news stories that had hurt the tech stock following Trump’s election.
Still, it isn’t simply a reversal of behavior among stocks that had surged or sank after the November election. Coca-Cola (KO) stock, which fell after Trump won, has fallen slightly further in 2017. And Goldman Sachs (GS) stock, the big winner of the Trump rally, is still rising.
But as least for now, investors are biting into technology FANG stocks once again.
