Obama speech produces muted stock winners, losers

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) � It may take a while before the full impact of President Barack Obama�s State of the Union starts to sink in with investors, but a few stocks on Wednesday saw subtle signs in how the policy address might affect them down the road.

In some cases, the effect of Obama�s words showed up in companies� stock prices. In others, the president�s call to action ran contrary to what one would expect. Either investors didn�t give Obama much of a chance of capitalizing on his words, say with big drug companies, or are waiting to see if there is any impact to be felt.

Read: Obama uses State of Union to call for end to �manufactured� crises.

Read full text of President Obama�s State of the Union speech.

And yet others, particularly banks, benefited from what the nation�s chief executive didn�t say.

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Burson-Marsteller CEO and former Clinton speechwriter Don Baer reviews President Obama's State of the Union speech and the agenda laid out for 2013 and beyond. Photo: Getty Images.

�President Obama�s State of the Union address was notable for the absence of Wall Street bashing,� Brian Gardner, senior vice president for Washington research at investment house Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said in a note to clients. �The speech was light on policy specifics and we expect no market reaction to the speech.�

Still, some notable movements came for a couple of the 3D printing companies after Obama mentioned the burgeoning industry in his speech, saying the sector has �the potential to revolutionize� manufacturing.

ExOne Co. XONE �rose more than 4% before settling with a 1.9% gain at $28.01. Some of the volatility may be related to its embryonic status: The maker of 3D printing systems had its IPO last week.

3D Systems Inc. DDD � shares rose 4% to $65.61. The stock has been trading near an all-time high and has tripled in value in the past 12 months.

But a number of others in the sector, including Exa Corp. EXA �, Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ �and Autodesk Inc. were down marginally. ADSK �

In fact, the president�s speech seemed to have a contrarian effect on some stocks. The two major gun makers � Sturm Ruger & Co. RGR �and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. SWHC �� were up substantially after Obama�s impassioned plea for votes on gun-control measures. Ruger gained 1.4% while Smith & Wesson jumped 4%. Read: 5 things harder to buy than guns.

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Obama�s call to cyber-arms in an effort to beef up online security from foreign threats also seemed to have a contrarian effect, as analysts said they were skeptical that government policy would have much impact on IT spending. The main players ended lower. Palo Alto Networks PANW �dropped nearly 3% to $55.12 while Fortinet Inc. FTNT �lost more than 2% to $23.34. Read more on cyber-security shares falling.

And drug makers were largely mixed after Obama proposed taxing the industry.

In other cases, however, Obama�s words might have had an effect, if somewhat muted. Humana Inc. HUM �, a big managed-care insurer specializing in Medicare cases, fell more than 1% after the president talked of reforming the nationally run health insurer.

A number of fast-food restaurateurs dipped in the wake of the president�s proposals for raising the minimum wage. McDonald�s Corp. MCD �led the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA �lower with a 1.2% drop. Burger King Worldwide Inc. BKW �sank 0.5%. Read more on U.S. stocks in Market Snapshot.

�We do not think most investors were looking for a signal for definitive change coming out of Washington. The minimum wage [announcement] was not that big a deal.� Brian Belski of BMO Capital Markets said in an interview.

Reuters McDonald's shares fell after President Obama said he wanted to raise the minimum wage.

Big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT � Target Corp. TGT �and Costco Wholesale Corp. COST �were all down, but only marginally.

Said Bill Stone from PNC Wealth Management: �It�s going to be difficult to get that [minimum wage hike] through Congress. People who are trading on that are taking a very long view.�

On the other side of the coin, energy firms did get a lift from Obama�s call to explore for more natural gas and oil. The biggest S&P 500 SPX �gainers were Devon Energy Corp. DVN �, up 3%, and Chesapeake Energy Corp. CHK �, which climbed 2%.Industry bellwether Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM �ended up 0.2%.

�Bottom line, nothing earth shattering,� was the headline in a morning note on energy stocks from brokerage Tudor Pickering to clients on Wednesday.