Stocks

Stocks post fourth straight monthly gain as tech shares surge

By Gertrude Aziz 2 weeks ago

Stocks ended higher on Friday, with the Nasdaq outperforming after a slew of better than expected corporate earnings results from major tech firms. Facebook and Apple posted record closing highs.

Friday’s session marked the last of July, with each of the three major indices closing out a fourth straight month of gains. The S&P 500 rose about 5%, the Dow increased 2% and the Nasdaq outperformed, rising more than 6.5% on the month.

Tech titans Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), each reported quarterly results that blew past estimates Thursday evening, affirming these companies’ pandemic-era dominance following a steep run-up in tech stocks over the past couple months.

Facebook grew its revenue 11% over last year as its advertising business remained resilient despite the pandemic-related slowdown across the broader ad industry. Alphabet’s ad business was hit more prominently by that trend, with Google ad revenue falling

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Stocks rise, Nasdaq outperforms as strong earnings offset economic fears

By Gertrude Aziz 2 weeks ago

Stocks extended gains Friday morning, with the Nasdaq jumping about 1%, after a slew of better than expected corporate earnings results from major tech firms. Each of Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Netflix hit record highs shortly after market open.

Tech titans Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), each reported quarterly results that blew past estimates Thursday evening, affirming these companies’ pandemic-era dominance following a steep run-up in tech stocks over the past couple months.

Facebook grew its revenue 11% over last year as its advertising business remained resilient despite the pandemic-related slowdown across the broader ad industry. Alphabet’s ad business was hit more prominently by that trend, with Google ad revenue falling 8% over last year, though Alphabet’s overall top- and bottom-line results still topped estimates. Facebook’s daily active users jumped 13% to 1.79 billion and monthly active users rose 12% to 2.7% billion as the

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Goldman Sachs predicts these stocks will benefit from a weakening dollar

By Gertrude Aziz 3 weeks ago

The U.S. dollar is slumping, but investors could still make some greenbacks off of a few key stocks.

FX strategists at Goldman Sachs predict the trade-weighted USD will weaken some 5.3% in the coming year, off of a roughly 4% slump from mid-May, strategists at the firm wrote in a note Friday.

To be sure, the dollar has taken a beating recently (the U.S. Dollar Index is down about 4% in the last month)—And there are those that are predicting the coronavirus crisis could topple its supremacy altogether. But despite the selloff, strategists at Goldman believe “the greenback remains overvalued by most metrics and offers poor fundamentals.”

Indeed, Morgan Stanley’s chief investment officer Lisa Shalett wrote in a Monday note that “we finally see the dollar bull dying, too, as the forces that created dollar scarcity—superior relative growth and yields, a shrinking current account deficit and more effective post-crisis policies—fade.”

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7 Growth Stocks Prepared for a Summer Surge

By Gertrude Aziz 3 weeks ago

In terms of market volatility, this year is definitely one for the books. 2020 saw market movements that would normally take decades, compressed into a single year. With unemployment rates at their highest and businesses facing the risk of bankruptcy, the economy hit some new lows this year. However, a period of downturn also presents a unique opportunity for investors to load up on growth stocks to buy at a discounted price.

Historically speaking, a bear market in the S&P 500 was always replaced by a bull market rally in the years before Covid-19.

While it’s hard to remain optimistic in uncertain times, investors need to take a long-term approach when investing in stocks. Some companies are likely to emerge from the pandemic as losers. Others will come out of this stronger than ever.

InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

Here are seven growth stocks that

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5 Coronavirus-Proof GARP Stocks to Pick on Discounted PEG

By Gertrude Aziz 3 weeks ago

Investors have been agonized by the coronavirus pandemic-triggered market sell offs. However, the benchmark indices touched a fresh high two days back, thanks to the positive sentiment surrounding the news of the U.S. government placing an initial vaccination order of 100 million doses to Pfizer and BioNTech.

Policymakers have left no stone unturned to provide an impetus to the market. The Fed slashed the benchmark interest rate to nearly zero and a quantitative easing program too was announced to increase money supply. President Trump signed economic relief packages to help small businesses, hospitals as well as to boost testing.

Now the big question is which investment strategy can you resort to right now?  Some investors have managed to bridge the gap between value and growth with a hybrid strategy of investment called GARP (growth at a reasonable price). Their theory suggests that the principles of both value and growth strategies

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Wedbush Sees Buying Opportunity in These 3 Stocks

By Gertrude Aziz 3 weeks ago

Sometimes, the buying opportunities aren’t so obvious. It’s the job of Wall Street’s investment and research firms to clarify the situation – and Wedbush has been at the forefront of stock research for 65 years. The firm’s cadre of 52 analysts have more than 3,400 reviews on record – their collective finger is on the pulse of the stock market. And in recent weeks, they have pointed out three stocks that investors should consider buying.

We’ve used the TipRanks database to pull up the details on these stocks. They’re an eclectic bunch, covering a variety of business sectors, and Wedbush’s analysts see a far higher upside potential for each of them than Wall Street’s conventional wisdom would allow. Two of these stocks have been upgraded to Buy; one has been initiated at a Buy. Let’s find out why.

Harley-Davidson (HOG)

First on our list is one of the world’s most

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Stocks Rally to 4-Month High; U.S. Futures Gain: Markets Wrap

By Gertrude Aziz 4 weeks ago

(Bloomberg) — Stocks set a fresh four-month high in Europe and German equities erased losses for the year after leaders agreed on a landmark recovery plan.

Microsoft Corp., Tesla Inc. and Apple Inc. advanced in U.S. pre-market trading. S&P 500 Index equity futures pointed to more gains on Tuesday after a blistering rally that sent the Nasdaq 100 Index to its best gain in almost three months.

Markets across Europe have given a vote of confidence to the 750 billion-euro ($860 billion) stimulus package that also tightens the region’s financial ties. A gauge of risk in Europe’s investment-grade debt dropped to the lowest since February. The dollar fell with Treasuries. Silver extended its rally toward $21 an ounce.

Stocks are marching higher globally on the back of more government stimulus and a seemingly unstoppable advance in technology companies that benefit from online shopping during the pandemic.

The tech-heavy gauge is

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8 High-Risk Stocks

By Gertrude Aziz 1 month ago

Number 8
Number 8

As equity markets continue to recover after the collapse earlier in the year, many shares are now overvalued, according to Morningstar analysts.

Investors looking to capitalise on lockdown trends have chased e-commerce, tech and healthcare stocks, driving valuations ever higher. Indeed, Tesla’s (TSLA) shares have soared 200% this year, for example, while Shopify (SHOP)  is up nearly 140%. Such a rapid upward trajectory may not be a signal to buy, however – analysts warn many of these hot stocks are looking expensive.

UK Stocks to Avoid

We last looked stocks to avoid in April when valuations were starting to move higher after March’s sell-off.

To compile this list we look at stocks with an Uncertainty Rating of High or Very High, which have no Economic Moat, and which are rated as either one or two stars by Morningstar analysts, indicating that their shares are trading above their fair

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5 Business Services Stocks to Buy While Pandemic Continues

By Gertrude Aziz 1 month ago

Wall Street has been reeling under volatility since mid-June, following the second wave of coronavirus in more than 20 U.S. states. New cases of COVID-19 jumped as all 50 states started reopening after nearly two months of lockdowns. The resurgence of the deadly virus has raised several questions about the much-hyped, V-shaped recovery of the U.S. economy.

Despite the resurgence of coronavirus, several business service stocks have skyrocketed in the past three months. A handful of them carries a favorable Zacks Rank.

Sector Looks Promising

The business services sector comprises consulting, staffing, financial tractions, outsourcing, advertising, waste removal, building maintenance, technology services and auction/valuation services industries. This sector benefited from a higher demand for expertise to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.

U.S.states eased restrictions and started to open up their economies in the last week of May. This favored the sector following nearly two months of lockdowns. Although, some

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5 Tech Stocks to Buy

By Gertrude Aziz 1 month ago

The coronavirus pandemic, which has been wreaking havoc economically, has emerged as an unlikely silver lining to the millenials or Gen Y — a generation that roughly comprises adults whose birth years range between 1981 and 1996 — by compelling them to bring about positive changes to their finances.

COVID-19 induced falling GDP and rising unemployment level are persuading this demographic cohort to become more calculative and conservative in spending. This demographic that has been often stereotyped as the “Avocado Toast Generation” is cutting back on their spending as apprehensions regarding the current recession continue to increase.

According to a survey data from Money Under 30, 69% of the millennials have spent less so far amid this crisis by saving on brewed coffees, transportation, vacations and dining out. Further, the survey shows that 65% of the millennials have received a boost to their finances, which is a major positive.

Hence,

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