Choose Stocks that Might Benefit from Obama

you can't expect the incoming occupant of the White House to single-handedly revive the stock market, but a few key market sectors—including infrastructure, alternative energy, and healthcare—could fare well in an Obama presidency.

Companies that deal in renewable energy and energy efficiency stand to benefit from Obama's plan to spend $150 billion over 10 years on such projects. Because many companies in the alternative-energy industry are still in their infancy, it makes sense to choose an exchange-traded fund that provides diversified exposure to the sector. Tom Lydon, coauthor of iMoney: Profitable ETF Strategies for Every Investor, likes PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (symbol PBW), which holds mostly U.S. stocks, and Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy (GEX), which invests worldwide.

Obama is pushing a stimulus package that would funnel government money into bridges, roads, and rail lines. Bob Auer of the Auer Growth fund says the plan would be a boon for infrastructure businesses like Valley, Neb.-based Valmont Industries, which makes everything from traffic lights to irrigation systems to components that connect wind farms to the power grid. He also favors Flowserve, a manufacturer of pumps and valves for the oil and gas, power, and chemical industries. An added bonus: The Irving, Texas, company also serves the nuclear-power market.

The president-elect's call for more coverage of preventive healthcare services—such as cancer screenings—could benefit companies like Walgreens, which is growing its numbers of in-store clinics, says Josh Rothé, president and director of research for SKBA Capital Management, a San Francisco investment advisory firm. He also thinks generic-drug manufacturers such as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Forest Laboratories could get a boost, as well as healthcare information technology firms that deal in computerizing medical records.