Defense stocks to buy as spending bill moves through Congress; trading small caps
(This is a wrap-up of the key money moving discussions on CNBC's "Worldwide Exchange" exclusive for PRO subscribers. Worldwide Exchange airs at 5 a.m. ET each day.) Investors are looking for opportunities in the oil and natural gas space. They are also eyeing a tailwind for defense stocks in President Donald Trump's spending bill. Worldwide Exchange Pick: EOG Resources Patrick Fruzzetti of Rose Advisors said EOG Resources is a good buy despite the decline in oil prices. "It's a premium driller with a great balance sheet, good assets they have been in West Texas for a long time, they are expanding in Utica (Ohio)," said Fruzzetti. "With the environment we have been in geopolitically it's always worth having some exposure oil and gas in your portfolio." EOG Resources shares are down more than 1% in 2025. The stock pays a more than 3% dividend. Investing in defense Sheila Kahyaoglu of Jefferies said she is surprised that defense stocks haven't moved higher during the escalation of the Israel-Iran conflicts and U.S. strikes. However she said a new tailwind for the space for legacy players like RTX , Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman could come from Congress in the "Big Beautiful Bill," with defense spending proposed to increase by $150 billion, or roughly 13%, year over year. "If (President Trump) gets the $150 billion approved, maybe you could say it's all used in fiscal 2026, and it's clear he wants to be supportive of his 'Golden Dome' project which would literally be half of that $150 billion, $75 billion. A golden dome would be a beneficiary for existing systems because he wants to deploy it in three years," said Kahyaoglu. Two other stocks Kahyaoglu said are getting recent investor attention Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions . Investing in industrials Keith Lerner of Truist sees more upside in industrials that have been the leading sector year to date. "I think Industrials lead by defense continues to be something that will have a big," Lerner said. He added: "It is also an indirect AI play with things like cooling as an example." Lerner said FedEx earnings could have an impact on sentiment within the sector and advises investing through a diversified ETF rather than trying to find individual winners with the current trade and geopolitical uncertainty. Outlook for small caps Daniel Morris of BNP Paribas sees gains ahead the Russell 2000 . "If you increase your allocation to the S & P 500 you are implicitly betting more on that tech call," Morris said. "The appeal of small caps then becomes that you can increase your exposure to U.S. growth without increasing your exposure to megacap tech. We see it as diversified access to US growth." The Russell 2000 is more than 13% away from it's 52-week high, while the S & P 500 is 2% from a new all-time high.
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