Shares in companies tied to nuclear power jumped Friday, helped by President Donald Trump’s rollout of four executive orders that aim to provide a boost to the sector, but there were concerns about whether there could be much of a near-term impact.
One order seeks to speed up the adoption of specialized nuclear reactors at defense installations, and another aims to reform the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, White House aide Will Scharf said. A third order is intended to revise regulations for nuclear-reactor testing, and a fourth seeks to reinvigorate the nuclear-industrial base, Scharf said.
Jonathan Hinze, president of UxC, which provides analysis of the nuclear-fuel market, told MarketWatch that it’s “very hard to see how the U.S. will shift to a more domestically focused nuclear-fuel supply chain anytime in the near future,” given the current heavy reliance on imports.
“The main impacts I see from these [executive orders] is streamlining some regulations that could make it easier for companies to pursue their mine or fuel-cycle projects. But there’s no new government spending being announced, so much will depend on how the DOE under Trump administers the current programs that fund new fuel-cycle projects,” Hinze said, referring to the Department of Energy.
Meanwhile, Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital, said U.S.-based companies like Constellation Energy Corp. and Vistra Corp. are “well-positioned to benefit from a nuclear revival.”
Source: Market Watch
