Stock market record high

The ascent of the S&P 500 Index (SPX) to one record high after another might look, on the surface, as a breakout of irrational exuberance among investors. But the opposite is occurring as investment managers become increasingly bearish. Only 49% of the 148 professional money managers recently surveyed have a bullish view of the market over the next 12 months, down from 56% in a fall 2018 survey. This is the first time that the bulls have been in the minority since the fall of 2016, according to the spring 2019 release of Barron's Big Money Poll . It's also notable that 70% of respondents believe that stocks are fairly valued today, the highest percentage in nearly five years. “It’s difficult to get excited about the sustainability of a market rally that consists of expanding valuations in a slowing or declining earnings environment,” as Marc Dion, chief investment officer (CIO) at Wisconsin-based Morgan Dempsey Capital Management, told Barron's. Ingrid Hendershot, … [Read more...] about Bulls’ Ranks Fall to Lowest in 3 Years as Stocks Hover Near Highs

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Stocks rallied slightly on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting showed that the central bank is likely to continue raising interest rates by a half-percentage point each in June and July, amid growing urgency to combat surging inflation and avoid an economic downturn. Key Facts Stocks moved higher as investors assessed the minutes of the Fed’s policy meeting earlier in May: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, around 200 points, while the S&P 500 gained 1% and the Nasdaq Composite 1.5%. The latest minutes show that there is a consensus among Fed officials about the growing need for tighter monetary policy from the central bank, while interest rates could be increased more quickly than markets have currently priced in. Most officials agreed that it would be necessary to continue the current pace of aggressive monetary policy and raise interest … [Read more...] about Stocks Rally After Fed Minutes Show Central Bank Will Continue To Raise Rates Aggressively

Stock investors looking for a way to outperform despite the trade war's major upheaval should look at Goldman Sachs' Hedge Funds VIP list. Analysts at the Wall Street investment firm have picked 50 stocks that appear most often among the top 10 holdings of fundamentally-driven hedge funds. While many of the companies on Goldman’s Hedge Funds VIP list have seen their share prices hit by the trade war’s re-escalation, Goldman's overall basket has outperformed the S&P 500 in 61% of quarters since 2001, with an average quarterly excess return of 55 basis points. The group includes "rising stars" seeing sharp increases in ownership, such as Walt Disney Co. ( DIS ), Celgene Corp. ( CELG ), Worldpay, Inc. ( WP ) and Iqvia Holdings Inc. (IQV), as well as blue chip companies like Visa Inc. ( V ), Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT ), Citigroup Inc. ( C ), Comcast Corp. ( CMCSA ), Charter Communications ( CHTR ) and ServiceNow Inc. ( NOW ), all of which have dramatically … [Read more...] about 10 Stock Market Leaders Amid the Trade War Upheaval

[SHUTTERSTOCK] Markets across the board have weakened dramatically as rates in the United States rise, with equity, bonds, currencies and cryptocurrencies hit hard by the rush to quality and weak investor sentiment. This is very much the case in Korea. Not only are the markets being put under strain by hot money outflows and the threat of more, but the local central bank has been tracking the U.S. Federal Reserve and has said that rapid rate increases are not out of the question at home. Korea, like most countries, faces the dilemma of capital flight versus higher, economy-crushing, rates. The Russia-Ukraine war and production bottlenecks lingering from the pandemic only add to the stress on the markets. The Kospi hit a one-year low on May 12, and the won is nearing levels not seen since the 2008 global financial crisis. Companies are canceling initial public offerings (IPO) as investors shift to a wait-and-see mode. On May 4, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that … [Read more...] about Korean markets join global markets in decline, IPOs canceled

Although the broad U.S. stock market is trading near record highs, Goldman Sachs has found more than a dozen "beaten down stocks" that are trading at attractive discounts and thus are prime candidates for a rally, according to a recent research report. This group includes International Business Machines Corp. ( IBM ), Best Buy Co. Inc. ( BBY ), Morgan Stanley ( MS ), Flex Ltd., formerly Flextronics International, ( FLEX ), Conagra Brands Inc. ( CAG ), Carnival Corp. ( CCL ), Valero Energy Corp. ( VLO ), FedEx Corp. ( FDX ), Mosaic Co. ( MOS ), Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. ( ADM ), and Macy's Inc. ( M ). Goldman indicates that investors who bought these stocks based on low valuations have seen them outperform stocks with faster-growing earnings recently. "While fundamentals will also determine the long-term trajectory of stocks, we use signals from options and credit markets to identify 20 value stocks from among those where our analysts' estimates show … [Read more...] about Goldman Says These Dozen Stocks are Ready to Rally

Reporting season for 2Q 2019 is underway, and consensus estimates foresee a 3% year-over-year (YOY) aggregate profit decline for the S&P 500 Index (SPX) , the biggest drop since 2Q 2016, according to data from FactSet. Adding to the gloom, 88 companies in the S&P 500, including some of the biggest, have warned that their 2Q 2019 profits will be weaker than previously anticipated. Despite a decelerating global economy, and no end in sight to the U.S.-China trade conflict, the S&P 500 is hitting new record highs partly on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Indeed, Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted during testimony before Congress last week that a cut may come in July. “Though few, if anyone, expected Powell to push back against the odds of a July cut, it’s still a bit surprising to see his testimony so weighted toward the negative, which suggests that the economy could be struggling even more than many investors had feared,” as J.J. … [Read more...] about How 2Q Guidance Could Hammer The Bull Market

As the S&P 500 trades near record highs in 2019, Goldman Sachs says that a select group of reasonably priced, high-ROE growth stocks will lead the market in the coming months. These include: Baker Hughes ( BHGE ), which has expected ROE growth in the next 12 months of 47%, followed by MGM Resorts Intl. ( MGM ) 42%, Iron Mountain Inc. ( IRM ) 41%, Macerich Co. ( MAC ) 40%, Devon Energy Corp. ( DVN ) 41%, Newmont Goldcorp ( NEM ) 31% and Nordstrom Inc. ( JWN ) 31%. This is the first of two articles in which Investopedia will look at Goldman's picks. 'Challenging' Outlook for ROE Goldman says this superior performance will occur despite major pressure on ROE at most companies. "While stocks with low volatility and strong balance sheets still trade more than 2 standard deviations expensive relative to the past 10 years, stocks with high returns on capital carry more reasonable valuations," said Goldman in its latest US Weekly Kickstart report. "We expect investors … [Read more...] about 7 High ROE Stocks With Upside Amid Richly Valued Market

U.S. stocks' losing streak is continuing this morning, with all three of the major averages falling on anticipation of higher interest rates ahead of tomorrow's Federal Reserve meeting and increasing tensions surrounding Russia and Ukraine. Key Takeaways U.S. stocks' losing streak is continuing this morning, with all three of the major averages falling. Anticipation of higher interest rates ahead of tomorrow's Federal Reserve meeting and increasing tensions surrounding Russia and Ukraine are hammering stocks. Bonds rose, while oil and cryptocurrency prices fell. Last week, the Nasdaq posted its biggest weekly decline since March 2020 on its way to a fourth-straight weekly decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have dropped for three straight weeks—the Dow lost 4.6% last week, and the S&P 500 fell 5.7%. After a solid 2021, when all three major indexes notched double-digit gains, stocks this year are hitting the brakes as the Federal … [Read more...] about Downward Slide for Stocks Continues to Start the Week

The consumer finance industry has registered a 22.30% year-to-date (YTD) gain on the back of record low unemployment, steady wage growth, and high readings of consumer confidence. However, a wave of selling swept across credit services stocks Monday as recession fears regained traction, stoked by increasing global trade disputes and a fall in the benchmark 10-year Treasury note that has led to a partial inversion of the yield curve . Reports of possible government antitrust investigations on tech giants also weighed on stocks in the space. As antitrust probes heat up on FAANG members, investors may start to consider what impact they will have on existing and future strategic partnerships with leading credit services players. In particular, tightening privacy regulations could thwart credit card companies sharing transaction trends with large tech companies. From a valuation perspective, large-cap payment processing companies trade at high earnings multiples , suggesting … [Read more...] about Check Out of Credit Services Stocks

As a slowing economy and trade wars cloud the outlook for U.S. companies, Goldman Sachs has compiled a list of stocks that are expected to post double-digit sales increases in 2020 despite strong macro headwinds. And as rising costs squeeze profits, companies with robust revenue growth are in a far better position to expand earnings. Excluding stocks in the financial, utilities, and real estate sectors, a mere 24 members of the S&P 500 Index (SPX) are projected to increase revenues by 10% or more 2020, per the new edition of Goldman's US Quarterly Chartbook. While the S&P 500 is up by 16.5% year-to-date through Oct. 9, 2019, six of these stocks have posted even more impressive gains: Global Payments Inc. ( GPN ), 56.2%, Danaher Corp. ( DHR ), 33.1%, Adobe Inc. ( ADBE ), 21.2%, Nvidia Corp. ( NVDA ), 35.4%, Mastercard Inc. ( MA ), 44.3%, and Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT ), 36.1%. Key Takeaways Goldman says 24 S&P 500 companies will post double-digit sales … [Read more...] about 6 Market Leaders Fueled by Superior Revenue Growth