After bouts of volatility, Wall Street regained momentum in the past few sessions on optimism over trade talks between the United States and China and signs of stabilization in Turkey. The two countries are set to hold talks this week and China is expressing willingness to come to some terms with the United States to resolve the trade issue, as per some analysts.
A pair of billion-dollar deals — PepsiCo’s (PEP - Free Report) purchase of SodaStream International (SODA - Free Report) for $3.2 billion and Tyson Foods’ (TSN - Free Report) purchase of Keystone Foods for $2.16 billion — also instilled confidence in economic expansion. Per the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey, professional investors have the biggest portfolio weighting to U.S. stocks in their portfolio since early 2015. Allocation to U.S. stocks jumped 10 percentage points this month to a net 19% overweight, the highest since January 2015.
Surging corporate profits and an improving economy as indicated by bouts of upbeat data are acting as major catalyst for the stock market. Notably, the American economy has been on a solid growth path with GDP growth expanding 4.1% annually in the second quarter, representing the fastest pace of growth in nearly four years. The historic tax cuts, infrastructure investment, higher government spending, deregulation, rising wages and record unemployment are fueling huge growth. Per Trump, “the United States is on track to hit the highest annual growth rate in over 13 years”.
Additionally, an impressive labor market, increase in wages, rise in consumer confidence and higher consumer spending are boosting economic activities. A rising rate scenario also signals a strengthening economy, which will spur further growth in the stock market.
While there are winners in many corners of the stock market, investors should tap the sectors that are expected to continue moving higher in the weeks ahead. Below, we have highlighted four sector ETFs that hit new highs in the recent trading sessions and have a Zacks Rank of #1(Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy).
