No matter who voters choose, whether it is former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris , Liwag doesn't expect a meaningful shake-up in the outlook for defense stocks. Still, the analyst notes that even cases where an administration cuts defense spending, stocks can still carve out gains. During the Obama administration, the defense budget fell 3.3%, but defense stocks gained 2.1%. The defense stocks Morgan Stanley covers have outperformed the S & P 500 since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Liwag said. "Historically, the conventional wisdom has been that Republicans are positive for defense spending and defense stocks, while Democrats are negative," Harned said.

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Persons: Bernstein, Douglas Harned, Lockheed Martin, Morgan Stanley, Kristine Liwag, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Liwag, Bernstein's Harned, Harned, Harris, Wolfe Research's, Tobin Marcus, Marcus, Ronald Epstein, Epstein, Trump, Northrop, Obama, Northrop Grumman, Morgan Stanley's, Michael Ciarmoli, Truist, Leonardo Organizations: P Aerospace, Defense, Industry, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed, CNBC, " Bank of America, Democratic, Senate, Republican, U.S . House, Trump White House, Republican Senate, Trump, Abrams, Space Force, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Hamas, Dynamics, Northrop, Gulfstream, Leonardo DRS, Moog, Republicans Locations: Ukraine, U.S, Russia, Crimea, Iran, Israel