France Bleeds Again: ETFs & Stocks In Focus

Within less than a year, France met with its second terror attack on Thursday. Over 80 people were killed and around 18 injured when a heavy truck smashed a mass watching Bastille Day fireworks in the French Riviera city of Nice.

Eight months back, Paris had encountered the worst terror attack in Europe in over a decade. A chain of Islamic State-backed terrorist attacks had killed around 130 people and left hundreds injured (read: Top ETF Stories of November).

How Will the Investing World React?

The recent upsurge in terrorism is not only a threat to mankind, but also to the global investing space. Global stocks are expected to dive as risk-on sentiments will be hurt by this attack, though stocks are showing resilience as of now.

Needless to say, the epicenter of the crisis – France – will be the worst hit with French stocks likely to be under pressure in the coming few days. iShares MSCI France ETF EWQ will likely bear the brunt of this likely sell-off.

However, among all asset classes and sectors, there are a few sectors that are likely to be hit hard while some may gain. Below we highlight those sectors that are in focus after the Nice attack.

Likely Losers

Hospitality

Since tourism and hospitality sectors are hit hard after a terror attack in any place, France will also likely see the same fate. Not only France, big European cities that are the soft targets of terrorist groups might see a fallback in their tourism and hotel industry. Notably, the tourist industry accounts for about 8% of the French economy.

Thanks to this fear for tourism, big U.S.-based hotel chains that have considerable exposure in Europe, may see retreating share price. Marriott International Inc. ( (NASDAQ:MAR) ), Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:WYN) are some such companies. Not only hotels, since travelers are likely to abandon cruise trips, Carnival (LON:CCL) Corporation ( (NYSE:CCL) ) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ( (NYSE:RCL) ) might be in a tight spot in the coming days.

Notably, consumer discretionary ETF PowerShares DWA Consumer Cyclicals Momentum Portfolio (AX:PEZ) invests over 16% in Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure, and may thus feel the pressure.

Airlines

Needless to say, lower tourism and business travel means lesser air travel. Though the impact of the attack is likely to be short-lived, travelers might take some more time to get back to their previous euphoria, shrugging off all fears. The pure play Airline ETF U.S. GLOBAL JETS ETF (NS:JET) could thus see losses in the coming days. Another product PowerShares Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment Portfolio PEJ also invests considerably in the airlines sector (read: 7 Best Stocks & ETFs of 7-Year Bull Run).

Potential Gainers

Social Media

People around the world will likely take the social media route to condemn the attack and express their solidarity with the sufferers. This in turn should boost social media stocks like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) , giving the pure play social media ETF Global X Social Media Index ETF (CM:SOCL) reasons to surge ahead (read: Follow Social Media ETF on Strong Earnings).

Defense

Such back-to-back attacks in different parts of the globe once again fortifies the need for a strong defense base. After all, such geo-political risks are favorable for weapon manufacturers and defense contractors.

In any case, the sector is in good shape and may inch up in the coming days pushing iShares US Aerospace and Defense ETF (HN:ITA) , SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF ( (LON:XAR) ) andPowerShares Aerospace & Defense Portfolio (PPA) (read: ETFs to Watch If Hillary Clinton Wins the Presidency).

Cyber Security

Along with defense, the need for more cyber security has become more obvious. In fact, many have contemplated whether governments should have an access to technology that reserves the confidentiality of people’s correspondence, for the sake of national security, at the time of the Paris attack.

All these talks and urgencies may put cyber security stocks and the related ETFs, namely PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (NYSE:H) and First Trust NASDAQ CEA Cybersecurity ETF CIBR in focus in the coming days.

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