Drug Stocks Surge On Report That President Trump Plans To Ease Industry Regulations

The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF surged 4% and the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF rose 2.3% in midday trade Tuesday after a New York Times report said President Donald Trump has drafted an executive order that would ease industry regulations. Several proposals in the draft come from industry or simply seem to benefit drug companies, theTimes reported, including a study of how drug prices vary by country and reconsidering trade agreements using that information. The move would be a change in tone for the president, who has previously said drug companies are "getting away with murder" and vowed to bring prices down. Still, several of Trump's previous drug price proposals would likely only be possible through legislative action and not an executive order, the Times article noted. "The limited scope of the Trump discussions is an implicit acknowledgement that only congressional action could solve those issues (say, by rewriting Medicare Part D). Nothing of that scope will be discussed or acted upon in the executive branch," said EvercoreISI analyst Terry Haines. "Congress would not act on any part of ACA affecting drug prices before 2018 at earliest, and even that is far from likely after the battle over ACA taxes and revenues which is pending in the Senate and is far from over." The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has risen 14.9% in the last month, and the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has surged 3.1%, compared with a 0.9% rise in the S&P 500 .