The U.S. presidential election is just days away. Which candidate is better for the stock market? Surprisingly, we don't think it matters that much. This theory is backed up by historical data. Our review of presidential cycles reveals that the primary driver of stock success is market fundamentals - how well the economy is doing, if inflation is maintained at the low 2%-3% levels, if the labor market remains strong and unemployment doesn't creep up, and if interest rates are lower. This is the best case for stocks and outweighs whoever is in the White House. That said, there are some nuances and implications for individual sectors. For our list this week and next, we look at several sectors and how they might be impacted by America's choice for the next president. Below, we look at the Industrial and Financial sectors and how they might perform under either candidate.

Truist Financial was formed through the December 2019 merger of equals between BB&T Corp. and SunTrust Banks. The combined company has about $520 billion in assets and ranks as the sixth-largest bank for both assets and deposits in the U.S.

The major indices are mostly higher though small caps are lagging. It's been a heavy morning for economic data that is showing a strong US consumer. Retail Sales came in higher than expected at 0.4% for September compared to expectations of 0.3% and 0.1% the month before. On the labor front, fewer people filed for unemployment benefits last week than expected. Jobless claims dropped 19,000 to 241,000 last week. Economists had expected a bump higher.

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist is the combination of BB&T and SunTrust. Truist is a regional bank with a presence primarily in the Southeastern United States. In addition to commercial banking, retail banking, and investment banking operations, the company operates several nonbank segments.