From Brad Hoppmann: There was only one story on Washington and Wall Street Friday, and it was the fate of the Trump/Ryan healthcare bill in the House of Representatives.

Well, after plenty of horse trading and sausage making by the White House and members of Congress, it appears that the game is over for this bill, at least for now.

And, that means that the hopes of dismantling Obamacare also are now shelved.

The real news came to a head with about 20 minutes left in the trading session. That’s when House Republican leaders officially canceled a planned vote on the bill. They effectively pulled the proposed legislation, as the “yes” votes were not there to ensure its passage.

Just after the market closed, Speaker Paul Ryan held a press conference. He addressed what can only be described as a big defeat for his leadership, and for President Trump.

To put an exclamation point on the issue, the Wisconsin Republican said:

“Obamacare is the law of the land; it’s going to remain the law of the land … We’re going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.”

I guess seven years wasn’t enough for Paul Ryan and his fellow Obamacare opponents to come up with a palatable solution to a law that many Americans are extremely unhappy with.

Image Credit: themoderatevoice.com

Now that the Obamacare issue is basically off the table, what’s next for the Trump agenda?

Well, the silver lining here is that the administration has signaled it will now pivot to the more-important issue, at least from Wall Street’s perspective. And that is corporate tax reform.

In his presser, Ryan said as much. However, the Speaker acknowledged that getting things done will be a challenge from here, saying:

“Yes, this does make tax reform more difficult. But it does not, in any way, make it impossible. We will proceed with tax reform.”

Judging by the market’s short-term reaction to the news, the pivot to tax reform might be just what the doctor ordered.

After it became clear the bill was shelved, the Dow went from being down more than 100 points to being essentially flat. When the final bell sounded, the Dow was off 59 points.

For investors, and for those of us tasked with helping investors navigate the markets, next week is going to be very interesting.

Will Wall Street get nervous and effectively call off the Trump rally?

Or, will a pivot to tax reform remove the healthcare unknown, and help generate even more optimism on the economic front?

The world will soon find out, and we’ll be here to put it all into context for you.

The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) closed at $205.75 on Friday, down $0.56 (-0.27%). Year-to-date, DIA has gained 4.17%, versus a 4.62% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

DIA currently has an ETF Daily News SMART Grade of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #5 of 74 ETFs in the Large Cap Value ETFs category.

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This article is brought to you courtesy of Uncommon Wisdom Daily.

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