Stock Markets
Surging US megacap stocks leave some wondering when to cash out
As the U.S. stock market continues its climb, investors holding shares of the massive tech and growth companies leading the charge are debating whether to cash out or stay on for the ride.
A record $8.5 billion flowed into tech stocks in the latest week, data from BofA Global Research showed, as investors piled into a rally that has seen the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gain 33% in 2023. The benchmark S&P 500 has risen 11.5% this year and stands at a 10-month high.
Yet others see reasons for caution. Among them is the narrowness of the market’s rally: the five largest stocks in the S&P 500 have a combined weighting of 24.7% in the index, a record high dating back to 1972, Ned Davis Research said in a recent report. The heavy weightings could mean more significant fallout for broader markets should those names falter.
“We had this big run and the essential question is, do you believe it’s going to continue or do you believe things are going to return to the mean?” said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel.
Excitement over advances in artificial intelligence is a key factor fueling gains in megacap stocks. Big movers include shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which are up about 170% this year, while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), the top two U.S. companies by market value, have both climbed nearly 40%.
Jay Hatfield, CEO of hedge fund InfraCap, believes excitement over AI will keep boosting megacap stocks. He is overweight megacaps, including Nvidia, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
“We 100% believe in the AI boom,” Hatfield said. “I would be shocked if by the end of the year these stocks are not significantly higher.”
Data on Friday showed U.S. job growth accelerating in May, even as a jump in the unemployment rate suggested labor market conditions were easing, boosting investors’ appetite for stocks amid hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to bring down inflation without badly hurting growth. The S&P 500 rose 1.45%.
Megacap stocks led markets for much of the decade after the financial crisis and betting against them has been a perilous strategy in 2023. Investors’ allocation to cash is higher than it has been historically, data from BofA showed, which some market observers believe leaves plenty of fuel to push the rally further.
Strong momentum can also continue to propel stocks higher.
Michael Purves, CEO of Tallbacken Capital Advisors, wrote earlier this week that technical analysis showed the Nasdaq 100 is overbought, a condition that can make an asset more vulnerable to sharp declines. However, the index managed to rally another 10% over three months when it reached the same condition two years ago, according to Purves.
The recent surge in Nvidia showed how a stock can keep climbing even after posting hefty gains. Shares were already up 109% heading into its May 24 earnings report, but rose another 30% in the past week after the chip maker’s surprisingly upbeat sales forecast.
Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer at Hennion & Walsh Asset Management, said shares of Nvidia, which now trade at 44 times forward earnings estimates, according to Refinitiv Datastream, have become “a little rich.”
“I still like the technology sector over the next two years, but I now have to be a lot more focused on valuation given the run up in a lot of these megacap stocks,” said Mahn, who says Microsoft shares remain attractive due in part to the company’s impressive cash flow and healthy dividend yield.
Others are growing wary, citing factors such as rising valuations and signs that the rest of the market is languishing while a small cluster of stocks soars.
The performance of just seven stocks, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Nvdia, Meta Platforms and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), accounted for all of the S&P 500’s 2023 total return through May, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
At the same time, only 20.3% of S&P 500 stocks have outperformed the index on a rolling three-month basis, a record low dating back five decades, according to Ned Davis. Levels below 30% have preceded weaker performance for the broader market, with the S&P 500 rising 4.4% over the next year versus an average of 8.2% for all one year periods, the firm’s research showed.
David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors, in recent days pared back holdings of the iShares semiconductor ETF following the latest spike in shares of Nvidia.
Kotok views narrowing breadth as an ominous sign for the broader stock market, saying that equities also look less favorable in certain asset valuation metrics.
In one commonly used valuation metric, the S&P 500 is trading at 18.5 times forward earnings estimates compared to its historic average of 15.6 times, according to Refinitiv Datastream.
“You can have (market) concentration and it can go on for a while,” he said. But, he said, “for me, the narrowing is a warning.”
Stock Markets
DCI Advisors set for AIM trading on January 15
LONDON – DCI Advisors Limited, an investment advisory firm, has announced an update on its re-domicile process, indicating that the re-domiciled entity is now expected to commence trading on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on January 15, 2025. This follows the company’s previous update.
In the interim, the trading of the company’s ordinary shares will remain suspended. The suspension is pending the publication of the audited accounts for the year that ended on December 31, 2023, and the interim results for the six months that concluded on June 30, 2024. DCI Advisors has assured stakeholders that these financial results are anticipated to be released shortly and has promised to make a further announcement as soon as the information becomes available.
Additionally, the company has provided specific dates relating to the re-domicile process: the record date is set for January 14, 2025, and the enablement date for Euroclear, which is a system that settles domestic and international securities transactions, covering bonds, equities, derivatives, and investment funds, is scheduled for January 15, 2025.
Investors and market participants are advised to await further communications from DCI Advisors for more detailed information regarding the re-domicile and trading resumption. The company’s managing directors, Nicolai Huls and Nick Paris, along with their nominated adviser and broker Cavendish Capital Markets and the administrator FIM Capital Limited, are handling enquiries related to this update.
This announcement is based on a press release statement and is intended to keep market participants informed about the significant dates and the current status of DCI Advisors’ re-domicile process and trading on AIM.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
Stock Markets
Graco Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call
MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Graco Inc. (NYSE: GGG) announced today that it will release its Fourth Quarter 2024 earnings after the New York Stock Exchange closes on Monday, January 27, 2025. A full-text copy of the earnings announcement will be available on the company’s website at investors.graco.com. Graco management will hold a conference call, including slides via webcast, with analysts and institutional investors to discuss the results at 11 a.m. EST / 10 a.m. CST on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.
A real-time listen-only webcast of the conference call will be broadcast on the company’s website and by going here: edge.media-server.com. Listeners should register on the website at least 15 minutes prior to the live conference call. For those unable to listen to the live event, a replay of the webcast will be available on the company’s website at investors.graco.com.
ABOUT GRACO
Graco Inc (NYSE:). supplies technology and expertise for the management of fluids in both industrial and commercial applications. It designs, manufactures and markets systems and equipment to move, measure, control, dispense and spray fluid and powder materials. A recognized leader in its specialties, Minneapolis-based Graco serves customers around the world in the manufacturing, processing, construction and maintenance industries. For additional information about Graco Inc., please visit us at www.graco.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250107083647/en/
Investors: David M. Lowe, 612-623-6456
Media: Meredith (NYSE:) A. Sobieck, 612-623-6427
Meredith_A_Sobieck@graco.com
Source: Graco Inc.
Stock Markets
US stocks fall as Treasury yields on data flagging fresh inflation concerns
Investing.com–US stocks edged higher Tuesday, consolidating a rally in technology shares, ahead of the release of key economic data.
At 09:30 ET (14:30 GMT), the rose 100 points, or 0.2%, the index rose 23 points, or 0.4%, and the rose 65 points, or 0.3%.
Wall Street indexes were buoyed by a broader rally in tech stocks on Monday, which helped them recoup some of their losses from late-December and early-January.
Nvidia in focus
Nvidia (NASDAQ:) stock gained over 2% Tuesday, following an over 3% rally during the prior session, when the stock briefly hit a record high.
At CES 2025, a major annual tech conference in Las Vegas, CEO Jensen Huang laid out how the world’s second-most valuable firm is bringing technology that powers its lucrative data center AI chips to consumer PCs and laptops.
Nvidia gained around $2 trillion in market capitalization through 2024, as the company further cemented its position as the premiere maker of advanced AI chips.
The company also acts as a bellwether for the broader tech sector, given its prevalence in the fast-growing AI industry.
Elsewhere, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: stock fell 0.3% after the Facebook-parent said it would end its current third-party fact-checking program in the United States and instead begin moving to a ‘Community Notes’ program similar to that on social media platform X.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:) stock rose 0.4% after the software giant announced plans to spend $3 billion to expand its Azure cloud and artificial intelligence capacity in India.
Trump comments temper optimism
Beyond tech, gains in stock markets were somewhat tempered by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump denying media reports that his administration will pursue a less aggressive tariff regime than previously feared.
Trump denied a Washington Post report that his administration will only target certain sectors in imposing trade tariffs, instead of the broad tariffs promised by Trump during his campaigning.
Uncertainty over Trump’s policies had also weighed on Wall Street in the beginning of the year, given that he is widely expected to enact expansionary and protectionist policies that could underpin inflation and disrupt global trade.
Labor market data in focus
The major economic data release due later in the session is the for November, as the focus turns to the labor market and what it is saying about the strength of the US economy.
The is slated for Wednesday, ahead of Friday’s widely-watched December’s report.
The holds its next policy-setting meeting at the end of this month, and signaled a more cautious stance regarding cutting interest rates at its December meeting.
Crude bounces
Oil prices edged higher Tuesday, bouncing after the previous session’s losses on optimism of more policy support to revive economic growth in China, the world’s largest crude importer.
By 09:30 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) climbed 0.6% to $74.01 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.7% to $76.86 a barrel.
Both benchmarks slid on Monday, after rising for five days in a row last week to settle at their highest levels since October on Friday.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
- Forex2 years ago
Forex Today: the dollar is gaining strength amid gloomy sentiment at the start of the Fed’s week
- Forex2 years ago
How is the Australian dollar doing today?
- Forex2 years ago
Unbiased review of Pocket Option broker
- Forex2 years ago
Dollar to pound sterling exchange rate today: Pound plummeted to its lowest since 1985
- Cryptocurrency2 years ago
What happened in the crypto market – current events today
- World2 years ago
Why are modern video games an art form?
- Commodities2 years ago
Copper continues to fall in price on expectations of lower demand in China
- Forex2 years ago
The dollar is down again against major world currencies