Most Popular
1. Banking Crisis is Stocks Bull Market Buying Opportunity - Nadeem_Walayat
2.The Crypto Signal for the Precious Metals Market - P_Radomski_CFA
3. One Possible Outcome to a New World Order - Raymond_Matison
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
5. Apple AAPL Stock Trend and Earnings Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
6.AI, Stocks, and Gold Stocks – Connected After All - P_Radomski_CFA
7.Stock Market CHEAT SHEET - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.US Debt Ceiling Crisis Smoke and Mirrors Circus - Nadeem_Walayat
9.Silver Price May Explode - Avi_Gilburt
10.More US Banks Could Collapse -- A Lot More- EWI
Last 7 days
Stock Market Volatility (VIX) - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Investor Sentiment - 25th Mar 24
The Federal Reserve Didn't Do Anything But It Had Plenty to Say - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Breadth - 24th Mar 24
Stock Market Margin Debt Indicator - 24th Mar 24
It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - 24th Mar 24
Stocks: What to Make of All This Insider Selling- 24th Mar 24
Money Supply Continues To Fall, Economy Worsens – Investors Don’t Care - 24th Mar 24
Get an Edge in the Crypto Market with Order Flow - 24th Mar 24
US Presidential Election Cycle and Recessions - 18th Mar 24
US Recession Already Happened in 2022! - 18th Mar 24
AI can now remember everything you say - 18th Mar 24
Bitcoin Crypto Mania 2024 - MicroStrategy MSTR Blow off Top! - 14th Mar 24
Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - 11th Mar 24
Gold and the Long-Term Inflation Cycle - 11th Mar 24
Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - 11th Mar 24
Two Reasons The Fed Manipulates Interest Rates - 11th Mar 24
US Dollar Trend 2024 - 9th Mar 2024
The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - 9th Mar 2024
Investors Don’t Believe the Gold Rally, Still Prefer General Stocks - 9th Mar 2024
Paper Gold Vs. Real Gold: It's Important to Know the Difference - 9th Mar 2024
Stocks: What This "Record Extreme" Indicator May Be Signaling - 9th Mar 2024
My 3 Favorite Trade Setups - Elliott Wave Course - 9th Mar 2024
Bitcoin Crypto Bubble Mania! - 4th Mar 2024
US Interest Rates - When WIll the Fed Pivot - 1st Mar 2024
S&P Stock Market Real Earnings Yield - 29th Feb 2024
US Unemployment is a Fake Statistic - 29th Feb 2024
U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - 29th Feb 2024
What a Breakdown in Silver Mining Stocks! What an Opportunity! - 29th Feb 2024
Why AI will Soon become SA - Synthetic Intelligence - The Machine Learning Megatrend - 29th Feb 2024
Keep Calm and Carry on Buying Quantum AI Tech Stocks - 19th Feb 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Three Stocks for Celebrating the Bull Market’s Fifth Anniversary

Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2014 Mar 12, 2014 - 03:56 PM GMT

By: DailyGainsLetter

Stock-Markets

John Paul Whitefoot writes: Normally, an anniversary is worth celebrating. But with the S&P 500 having recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of its bull market run, there are many economic reasons to question its longevity. Considering the economic data of the last five years, it may make more sense to question how the bull market ever got to this point.


On March 9, 2009, the S&P 500 hit bottom, closing at 676.53 and capping a 16-month sell-off that saw the S&P 500 shed more than half of its value. Over the last five years, the S&P 500 has more than made up for the loss, climbing almost 180%. The average American has not fared quite as well.

For starters, the S&P 500 is only as strong as the stocks that make up the index. And because those stocks are a reflection of the U.S. economy, they should (one would think) run in step with the economic data. But this hasn’t been the case.

Over the last five years, the U.S. has been saddled with high unemployment, stagnant wages, high consumer debt levels, weak durable goods numbers, a temperamental housing market, waning consumer confidence levels, and a growing disparity between the rich and the poor.

In an effort to appease shareholders, businesses implemented a form of financial engineering, masking weak earnings and revenues with cost-cutting measures and unprecedented share repurchase programs. In fact, in 2013, share buybacks amounted to $460 billion—the highest level since 2007.

More recently, in 2013, the S&P 500 notched up 45 record closes—climbing roughly 30% year-over-year. Yet despite a year full of all-time highs, each quarter, a larger percentage of companies on the S&P 500 revised their earnings guidance lower.

Now, investors are beginning to ask if the economic disconnect can sustain the bull market; after all, one could argue that the bull market has been fuelled more by the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing policy and artificially low interest rates than strong earnings and revenue growth.

But even there things are changing. After printing off nearly $4.0 trillion during its reign of easy money, the Federal Reserve has started to taper its bond-buying program. Having spent $85.0 billion a month throughout 2013, the Federal Reserve has begun to reduce its monthly expenditure—which currently sits at a princely $65.0 billion a month. At the current pace, the Federal Reserve will be out of the bond-buying game by the end of the year.

The end of the Federal Reserve’s economic stimulus program coupled with a weak jobs market and stagnant wages has left many investors wondering whether or not the U.S. economy can stand on its own.

Still, if the S&P 500 can march higher for five years on weak or even terrible economic data, maybe there is some legitimacy to thinking the S&P 500 will carry onward and upward on lukewarm economic data.

In the U.S., the traditional gift for celebrating a fifth anniversary is wood. In lieu of wood, investors might want to consider the by-product—paper stocks. Investors looking to protect themselves against a market correction or take advantage of a shaky bull market might want to look at large-cap stocks with dividend growth, earnings, and price momentum in the paper sector.

Three stocks that fit that bill include: Raytheon Company (NYSE/RTN), Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE/PBI), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE/NOC).

Daily Gains Letter

© 2014 Copyright Daily Gains Letter - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.


© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in