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Globe and Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
RBC lifts S&P 500 year-end target to 5,730 points
RBC on Monday raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 index to 5,730 from 5,550, reflecting a modestly improved U.S. economic outlook and stronger-than-expected corporate earnings. The S&P 500 index ended May with its biggest monthly increase since November 2023 as U.S. President Donald Trump's softening tariff stance, upbeat earnings and tame inflation data helped markets recover from their April lows. Last month, Goldman Sachs and UBS Global Wealth Management raised their S&P 500 targets. RBC's target for the benchmark index is 3 per cent lower than Friday's close of 5,911.69 points. The brokerage has revised its target for the index three times this year. 'Our new price target reflects our belief that the stock market is on a slightly better path than the one that we were on in early April, but not back to where it was in January or mid March,' RBC strategists said in a note. 'Rebounding sentiment is the main risk to our call.' RBC maintained its earnings-per-share forecast for the index at US$258, lower than the consensus forecast of US$264 for this year, according to the brokerage. Be smart with your money. Get the latest investing insights delivered right to your inbox three times a week, with the Globe Investor newsletter. Sign up today.
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Stocks Shrug Off Trade War to Post Best Month Since 2023
U.S. stocks delivered their best month since late 2023, powering through every twist of tariff news and an uneven corporate earnings season to leave the indexes hovering just above where they began this tumultuous year. Fears over the fallout from the continuing trade war remain just below the surface, and on Friday JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, the CEO of the largest U.S. bank, implored Washington to resolve its differences with other governments, and China in particular. 'They're not scared, folks,' Dimon said about China. 'We have to get our act together and we have to do it very quickly.'
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Here Are the Top-Performing Stocks From the S&P 500 This Year
The stock market has been one heck of a seesaw in 2025. A bit over a month ago, the S&P 500 was down more than 15% on the year and narrowly avoided an official bear market (in fact, it closed down 19% from its highs and touched bear territory intraday). The Nasdaq officially entered one. By mid-May, the S&P 500 soared back into the green for 2025. It was the fastest recovery in over 40 years, with the index erasing its 15% year-to-date loss in less than six weeks. It's a good reminder that one of the worst mistakes we can make is to panic sell during times of market stress. The market is now telling us two things. First, it's to expect a quicker-than-anticipated resolution to the tariff issues and trade wars. And alongside that, the assumption is that inflation remains under control, which will allow the Fed to resume the rate-cutting process. This should provide a further tailwind to equity prices. An underlying downward trend in inflation combined with better-than-expected corporate earnings also helped propel the S&P 500 back near record highs. Sector Rotation Evident as Technology Rebounds There's no doubt that a strong 2024 was met with heavy selling early this year. Markets came under pressure as volatility increased amid uncertainty surrounding President Trump's tariffs. We also saw defensive sectors take the lead as market participants altered positioning. Even after this latest rally, two of the top three S&P sectors this year include utilities and consumer staples. These are two sectors we'd expect to hold up relatively well during corrections and bear markets. But things have quickly changed course with the technology sector roaring back. Unique catalysts such as the artificial intelligence theme resulted in the more aggressive pockets of the market returning to the forefront. The information technology sector is the leading sector over the past month; this is aligned with the secular bull thesis, as we'd expect tech stocks to outperform in a bull market. The media-hyped concentration risk at the very top of the cap-weighted S&P 500 would have us believe that investors are becoming increasingly reliant on a smaller number of companies to lead their portfolios. Yet none of the top 25 S&P 500 constituents (by index weight) are included in the best 3 performers in 2025. The evidence is now pointing to the notion that this correction in the S&P 500 has come to an abrupt end. Let's take a look at the top three performers so far this year from the blue-chip index. S&P 500 Gold: NRG Energy An integrated power company operating in the United States, NRG Energy NRG is leading the pack in 2025. Renewed strength in rate-sensitive utilities provides a durable backing for this industry leader. NRG Energy is involved in producing and selling electricity and related services to residential, commercial, industrial, and wholesale customers. The company generates electricity using natural gas, coal, oil, solar, nuclear, and battery storage. NRG stock is displaying relative strength, recently surging to 52-week highs. Shares have already advanced more than 70% this year: The utility provider has put together an impressive earnings history, surpassing earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters. Just a few weeks ago, the company reported first-quarter earnings of $2.62/share, a 45.6% surprise over the $1.80/share consensus estimate. NRG shares received a boost as analysts covering the company have been increasing their earnings estimates lately. For the full year, earnings estimates have risen 0.82% in the past 60 days. The 2025 Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate now stands at $7.34 per share, reflecting a potential growth rate of 10.5% relative to the prior year. S&P 500 Silver: Palantir A leading provider of artificial intelligence systems, Palantir PLTR took the top spot in 2024 (after being added to the S&P 500 in September) and has followed through this year. The company has benefitted from numerous strategic partnerships, including a recent collaboration with Bain & Company to integrate advanced AI solutions to diverse industries. Last year, Palantir announced that it extended its long-standing partnership with the U.S. Army, further aiding the delivery of its Army Vantage capability used to perform essential missions and enable quicker decision-making. The intelligence software and data analytics provider generates more than 50% of its revenue from government agencies. Late last year, the federal government issued the company a higher rating for secure cloud computing services, which should accelerate the handling of extremely sensitive data as part of Palantir's cloud offering. Following the latest correction, PLTR shares have climbed back to 52-week highs and are up more than 60% in 2025: Analysts covering PLTR remain bullish and have increased their second-quarter EPS estimates by 7.69% in the past 60 days. The Q2 Zacks Consensus Estimate now stands at 14 cents per share, reflecting a 55.6% potential growth rate versus the year-ago period. S&P 500 Bronze: Howmet Aerospace Rounding out the top 3 in terms of S&P 500 returns so far this year is defense giant Howmet Aerospace HWM. The company is a global provider of advanced engineered solutions for the aerospace and transportation industries. A Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Howmet stock has been a steady performer, surging more than 50% year-to-date: Howmet has built an incredible track record in terms of surpassing earnings estimates; the company hasn't missed the EPS mark since 2020. The aerospace and defense leader delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 8.9%. Howmet continues to witness rising earnings estimates as the company benefits from momentum in the commercial aerospace market. Analysts covering HWM increased their full-year EPS estimates by 6.13% in the past 60 days. The 2025 Zacks Consensus Estimate now stands at $3.46/share, translating to a healthy 28.6% growth rate versus last year. Final Thoughts These three market leaders are showing strong growth metrics and are poised to continue their outperformance. While defensive stocks led the charge in the first few months of 2025, other sectors like technology have resumed the driver's seat and are playing a big part in the S&P 500's resurgence. The bulls are hoping that this V-shaped recovery will be followed by more strength in the months to come. Studying the top performers is a great way to gain perspective. Be sure to explore all that Zacks has to offer so you're ready to take advantage of the next leaders. Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double" Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest. This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months. Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG): Free Stock Analysis Report Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM): Free Stock Analysis Report Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR): Free Stock Analysis Report
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Bursa ends lower on banking drag, bucks regional trend despite higher trading volume
KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — Bursa Malaysia bucked the regional trend to settle lower on Thursday, as selling pressure in selected banking heavyweights dampened sentiment, in the absence of fresh domestic catalysts coupled with an unexciting batch of corporate earnings releases, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 4.50 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 1,518.98 from Wednesday's close of 1,523.48. The benchmark index opened 2.12 points higher at 1,525.60 and fluctuated between 1,518.38 and 1,526.94 throughout the day. In the broader market, decliners beat gainers 478 to 466, while 460 counters were unchanged, 982 untraded and 110 suspended. Turnover expanded to 3.30 billion units worth RM2.22 billion compared with Wednesday's 2.50 billion units worth RM2.03 billion. Apex Securities Bhd head of research Kenneth Leong expects that the key index may attempt to find stability above the 1,500 level on the back of potential bargain hunting, going forward. 'Still, we believe that any potential gains could be capped by the resumption of foreign funds outflow. 'Looking ahead, investors will be keeping a close watch on the second reading of the US first-quarter 2025 gross domestic product data to be released later tonight,' he told Bernama. Domestically, Leong said the key focus remains on the ongoing corporate earnings releases. Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the release of the latest US Federal Reserve (Fed) minutes proved pivotal. 'The Fed's reaffirmation of its cautious stance—highlighting persistent inflationary pressures and resilient US macroeconomic data—has effectively tempered market expectations for a near-term rate cut.' 'This recalibration in rate outlook translated into upward pressure on global yields, a dynamic to which Malaysia's banking-heavy benchmark index remains acutely sensitive,' he told Bernama. Among heavyweights, Maybank gained three sen to RM9.87 and CIMB increased one sen to RM6.88. Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional fell two sen each to RM4.31 and RM14.08 respectively, while IHH Healthcare was flat at RM6.91. As for active stocks, Permaju inched down half-a-sen to one sen and Nationgate dropped 14 sen to RM1.44, while Velesto and NexG added one sen each to 18.5 sen and 37.5 sen respectively. MYEG was flat at 89 sen. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 14.84 points to 11,382.33, the FBM ACE Index rose 42.82 points to 4,592.16, but the FBMT 100 Index fell 19.34 points to 11,142.02. The FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 9.68 points to 11,365.83 while the FBM 70 Index perked up 25.65 points to 16,332.31. By sector, the Financial Services Index slipped 64.33 points to 17,893.57, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.32 of-a-point to 153.02, the Energy Index put on 1.67 points to 708.18, while the Plantation Index added 1.40 points to 7,293.95. The Main Market volume improved to 1.56 billion units valued at RM1.93 billion against Wednesday's 1.34 billion units valued at RM1.80 billion. Warrants turnover swelled to 1.37 billion units worth RM164.04 million from 815.91 million units worth RM113.60 million previously. The ACE Market volume advanced to 364.60 million shares worth RM120.88 million from 346.43 million shares worth RM119.44 million yesterday. Consumer products and services counters accounted for 354.51 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (317.02 million), construction (98.30 million), technology (235.43 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (70.33 million), property (170.33 million), plantation (14.93 million), REITs (88.90 million), closed/fund (2,700), energy (150.03 million), healthcare (36.24 million), telecommunications and media (56.54 million), transportation and logistics (15.65 million), utilities (34.86 million), and business trusts (23,400). — Bernama
Globe and Mail
22-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
2 Stocks Down 46% and 14% to Buy Right Now
On the heels of some significant (although potentially temporary) reversals on tariff and trade policy and strong corporate earnings from influential industry leaders, the S&P 500 index has seen a solid recovery over the past six weeks. As of this writing, the benchmark index is now basically flat across 2025's trading. That's an impressive feat given some dramatic sell-offs that roiled the market earlier in the year and almost pushed it into bear market territory. But while some stocks have seen huge valuation rebounds and gone on to trade at new highs or reach pricing in the neighborhood of previous peaks, there are still several promising stocks trading at substantial discounts. If you're on the hunt for stocks that look like great long-term investments, read on to see why two Motley Fool contributors think these discounted stocks have what it takes to deliver big wins for your portfolio. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » A second-place position in this AI market could still deliver first-rate returns Keith Noonan: Excitement surrounding the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution helped push Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) stock to a lifetime high in March 2024, but sales growth and margins for the company's AI processors since then wound up disappointing many investors. As a result, the semiconductor specialist's share price is down 46% from its all-time high. But I think AMD will still be able to score wins in AI and reward patient shareholders. To be clear, Nvidia retains a significant lead in most aspects of high-end AI processing hardware. The company's CUDA software platform is also the industry standard for getting the most out of processors when developing the foundations for AI models and applications. As a result, there's a good chance that AMD will have a hard time catching up to Nvidia at the high end of the market any time soon. On the other hand, AMD doesn't necessarily need to unseat Nvidia at the bleeding edge of AI processors in order to deliver strong returns for investors. With its Q1 earnings report, AMD posted a gross margin of 50% -- up from the 47% margin it recorded in last year's quarter. Increasing sales contributions from processors for data centers helped power the margin improvement. For comparison, Nvidia reported a gross margin of 78.4% in its first quarter. There's little chance of AMD recording a gross margin that high within the foreseeable future, but investors shouldn't be overly fixated on that comparative shortcoming. The AI processor market will likely continue to grow at a rapid pace, and it should be able to support more than one winner. As AI models and applications become more efficient and refined, the processing power needed to train and run a wide range of artificial intelligence systems should diminish. There will likely still be huge rewards for winners at the forefront of the technology, but the broader AI software category will expand and create a bigger market for midrange processing that offers cost-effective results. Even if AMD continues to be second-fiddle in the AI processor market, this creates a path for its stock to deliver market-crushing returns for shareholders. This technology stock is a great buy on a dip Lee Samaha: Industrial software company PTC 's (NASDAQ: PTC) stock price is down 8% in 2025 and 16% from its all-time high. The decline is due to deteriorating near-term market conditions, but that shouldn't detract from the fundamental attractiveness of its solutions or its long-term ability to grow its annual run rate (ARR) of active subscriptions and contracts and its free cash flow (FCF). The company's computer-aided design (CAD) and product lifecycle management (PLM) software lie at the heart of the digitization of manufacturing, and their value will only improve due to developments in AI, advanced analytics, and increased adoption of digital twins. Simply put, there's a revolution taking place in manufacturing whereby the physical world is being enhanced by actionable insights garnered through interaction with the digital world. Customers will still delay spending or take a more conservative approach to deploying investment in uncertain times. Unfortunately, the uncertainty in the economy due to the tariff conflict is causing PTC's customers to lengthen sales cycles and downsize deals. As such, PTC's management lowered its constant currency ARR growth guidance for 2025 from 9% to 10% to a new range of 7% to 9%. Frankly, this sort of thing is never good news. Still, on a more positive note, management raised its full-year FCF guidance to a range of $840 million to $850 million from a previous range of $835 million to $850 million due to excellent performance in the first half. Moreover, its FCF in 2025 is being negatively impacted by $19 million due to costs associated with the realignment of its sales and marketing operations (sales are being realigned around five key industry verticals). Adding the $19 million back to the midpoint of the FCF range gives an underlying FCF of $864 million, which would put PTC at 22 times FCF in 2025. That's an extremely attractive multiple for a company growing ARR at a high-single-digit rate and FCF at a mid-teens rate. Moreover, it will look even better if there's a de-escalation in the trade conflict. Should you invest $1,000 in Advanced Micro Devices right now? Before you buy stock in Advanced Micro Devices, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Advanced Micro Devices wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $642,582!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $829,879!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is975% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025
