Sector movers: Stocks grind higher as investors 'buy the world'
Big Pharma and Banks paced gains in the stock market at the end of the week with investors apparently opting to go global, pushing the FTSE 100 nearer to its record highs in the process.
"It was too much to hope that the FTSE 100 might find another burst of energy and take out the 7900 level today, but an almost straight-line move since the beginning of the year has certainly helped put the index on top," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"So far the Christmas trading statements have been broadly encouraging, and with recession fears capped for the time being the index’s blend of global companies seems to offer a promising mix for investors looking for a home where tech stocks do not feature too highly."
Worth noting, during the previous week Merrill Lynch equity strategist Michael Hartnett had inked a report to clients titled 'Buy the World', in which he predicted that US stocks would underperform.
In his judgement, 2023 in 10 trades could be summed up as: 1. Long 30-year US Treasuries, 2. Long yield curve steepeners, 3. Short US dollar, long EM assets, 4. Long China stocks, 5. Long gold and copper, 6. Barbell credit, 7. Long industrials and small cap stocks, 8. Short US tech, 9. Short US private equity, 10. Long EU banks, short Canada/Aussie/NZ/Sweden banks.
Investors appeared to be taking his advice onboard amid a rotation from 2022's winners into some the past year's losers.
Yet in his latest report released overnight Hartnett had a word of caution, telling clients that those investors counting on an EPS/recession trade would need to show patience.
In the meantime, the 'pain trade' would be up, until the Fed rate forecasts, yields, and credit spreads trough signalled "peak Goldilocks".
Top performing sectors so far today
Banks 3,714.21 +1.68%
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 21,620.63 +1.57%
Electronic & Electrical Equipment 9,364.87 +1.35%
Household Goods & Home Construction 11,473.52 +1.25%
Software & Computer Services 1,836.30 +1.00%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Tobacco 34,197.31 -1.33%
Industrial Transportation 3,652.30 -1.16%
Telecommunications Service Providers 2,333.46 -0.53%
Food Producers 6,232.54 -0.37%
Gas, Water & Multiutilities 5,862.68 -0.36%