10 S&P 500 Stocks Were Worst Performers In First Year Of Trump's Presidency: Will They Sink Again?

Former President Donald Trump's four years in the White House offer insights into which stocks and sectors might benefit or suffer if he secures a second term in the 2024 election.

Here's a look back at the worst-performing stocks in 2017, Trump's first year in the White House.

Worst Performing 2017 Stocks: The stock markets saw impressive gains in 2017, which were among the best ever for a president's first year in the White House.

The S&P 500, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, gained 21.7% in 2017, an impressive gain compared to the 12.0% increase in 2016. Presidential election years have historically outperformed other years.

While many stocks in the S&P 500 were up in 2017, there were also plenty of names that finished the year in the red. Here's a look back at the 10 worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 from 2017, as reported previously by Marketwatch.

1. Baker Hughes BKR: -51%, energy
2. Range Resources RRC: -50%, energy
3. Under Armour UAUAA: -50%, consumer discretionary
4. Scana Corp: -46%, utilities
5. Envision Healthcare Corp: -45%, health care
6. General Electric GE: -45%, industrials
7. Mattel Inc MAT: -44%, consumer discretionary
8. Chesapeake Energy Corp EXE: -44%, energy
9. Advance Auto Parts AAP: -41%, consumer discretionary
10. Signet Jewelers SIG: -40%, consumer discretionary

It's important to note that some of the companies have undergone some changes since this old list.

• Baker Hughes previously traded as BHGE and was merged with the oil and gas division of General Electric.
• Scana Corp was acquired by Dominion Energy D in 2019.
• Envision Healthcare underwent Chapter 11 bankruptcy and now is two separate privately owned companies.
• Chesapeake Energy changed its name to Expand Energy after merging with Southwestern Energy. The company also underwent bankruptcy protection in 2020, emerging successfully from the protection in 2021.

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Why It's Important: The list of the top 10 worst performers in 2017 overlaps with the best performing stocks that Benzinga recently shared.

Stocks in utilities, health care, industrials, and consumer discretionary appeared on both the best and worst performer lists. Top-performing stocks included technology and homebuilders, with no overlap among the worst performers.

Energy is likely a potential big loser based on the trends above if Trump wins the 2024 election. What likely happened in 2017 that could happen again is a run-up in stocks during the election year and then a potential selloff in the year after as investors take profits.

While some believe that energy stocks could be winners under Trump, past results could suggest otherwise. A president who supports more drilling and has different foreign policies could also impact the price of oil barrels and lower energy companies’ profits.

With less than two weeks until the 2024 election, investors are likely positioning their portfolio based on a Trump or Kamala Harris victory in some regards. With a close election predicted, investors may want to look to sectors that could benefit under either candidate.

Freedom Capital Markets Chief Global Strategist Jay Woods previously shared some sectors and stocks to watch with Benzinga that could benefit regardless of whether Trump or Harris wins the 2024 election.

Woods named defense stocks and cybersecurity stocks as two of the top sectors to watch ahead of the 2024 election.

"I think you've got to watch this sector closely," Woods said of the defense sector.

Woods said defense stocks could continue to benefit from geopolitical concerns and the world’s many negative events.

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