You know, sometimes tough sessions for the market can mask important messages of resolve that matter the most for long-term investors. While anxiety is reflected in the third triple-digit session in a row, there continue to be signs of resolve such as the Dow Industrial Average coming off the session low twice.

The index could not overcome major losses in Goldman Sachs (GS) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), the number 1 and number 9 heaviest weighted names in the index. After the close, International Business Machines Corp (IBM) saw revenues decline for the twentieth consecutive quarter, sending the stock off a cliff – it’s the fourth most impactful name in the Blue-Chip Index.

America First

President Trump’s ‘Buy American and Hire American’ Executive Order covers several areas beyond H1-B visas, including our procurement program that has been far more generous in opportunities to foreign companies than they have been to American companies.

U.S. Government Accountability (GAO) 2010 data

• Foreign Firms with U.S. Procurement: $837 billion
• U.S. Firms with Foreign Procurement: $381 billion 

Then there is protecting American steel makers by making sure federal projects are using steel that’s melted and poured in the United States, not just finished as many other parts of modern factories that are more akin to assembly plants than old-school manufacturing.

This is very important; the executive order states that each agency conducts a comprehensive ‘Buy American’ assessment and performance review, including ways to strengthen ‘Buy American.’

Trump has appointed Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce, to review all the agency findings and to submit a report within 220-days. There may be an action that requires legislative approval as the timing of the message is critical.

Americans must have pride and must be trained for so-called ‘new collar’ jobs that include operating machines and tools as much as high-tech skills. This is another reason why Snap-on Manufacturing Company was chosen because technical skills’ training is a special initiative for the company (see sidebar).

The ‘America First’ theme helped the Russell 2000 eke out a small gain as all the other major equity indices finished lower on yesterday.

While resolve is great, the stock market bias shifted to the downside; stocks can get hit on good news, and they can get crushed on bad news and be a disaster. This is important to remember for your portfolio; you will want to sell losers - do not allow the last three months alone, or Wall Street’s knee-jerk reaction, to be the rationale for closing a position at a loss. 

The flip side of this, of course, is that companies that are clearly executing, growing their businesses and margins, are to be considered if they sell-off with the broad market.