What impact has President Donald Trump had on investments?

President Trump has been in office for almost two weeks now, so how have the markets reacted to his flurry of executive orders?

We are only 13 days into the Trump Presidency but already his controversial policies are affecting the financial world, creating investment opportunities and pitfalls.

So let’s take a look at how markets have responded and where investors are putting their money.

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Rise of US stocks short-lived

US stocks have been enjoying a “Trump Rally” since his election victory back in November, but that has now begun to stall.

In the run up to Trump moving into the White House, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed steadily, breaking through 20,000 the week after his inauguration.

That move was celebrated on twitter by Trump’s administration.

But don’t get too excited.

“Dow 20,000 is a meaningless benchmark and crossing it means little,” claims Lawrence H. Summers in the Washington Post.

“It’s numerology, not analysis, to focus on round numbers.

“The Dow is an odd and arbitrary index which weights companies by their share price not their market value.

“It is highly limited in who is included, with Goldman Sachs accounting for over 20% of the gain in the 30 stock index since Election Day.”

Since then the Dow has fallen back to 19,890.

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Dollar rebounds, volatility remains

In the wake of Trump’s controversial immigration policy, which was unleashed last weekend, the dollar fell.

However, it has since recovered and was trading 1.4% higher against the euro at the time of writing than it was the day before Trump’s inauguration.

The main thing the stock markets have shown us in the short time since President Trump took office is that investors should brace themselves for a bumpy ride.

The stock markets have been jittery, reacting to every announcement coming out of the White House.

“While we continue to think a Trump victory likely means a higher US growth in 2017 than we would have expected three or six months ago, we still think volatility will be a feature of the year,” says Jim Reid, a senior strategist at Deutsche Bank.

“It just seems that there are too many uncertainties, unknowns and major policy changes attached to a Trump presidency for it to be a smooth year.”

How to take advantage

This volatility provides investment opportunities, according to market bulls.

Faith that Trump’s pro-growth agenda, which plans for tax cuts, deregulation and infrastructure spending, will boost the markets means “pullbacks due to uncertainties are likely to be opportunities to buy," analysts from Wells Fargo Investment Institute have noted.

They add: "Especially sectors that are leveraged to the normalisation of interest rates and the economy’s growth – industrials, consumer discretionary, and financials,” .

Gold rush

One area that is showing steady growth in the wake of President Trump’s flurry of executive orders is safe-haven investments.

Demand for the yen is up, as it is seen as a safe currency.

Also, trading in Treasuries has increased in recent days.

Finally, many investors are lining their portfolios with gold in anticipation of tough times ahead.

The historic safe-haven commodity is up 1.5% since 19 January and has risen 6% since the start of the year.

It is still very early days in the Trump presidency, but with markets reacting to every movement in the White House, now would appear to be the time to rebalance and diversify portfolios.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of loveMONEY. The information included does not constitute regulated financial advice. You should seek out independent, professional financial advice before making an investment decision.