Investment Ideas and what to watch
Hello new half-year, quarter, month!
July is traditionally one of the best months for equities in the US and Australia. In fact, its the third best month of the year for returns as capital is put to work (invested) - the same capital that may have been taken off the table at the end of half-year.
What were the best-performing US stocks in the first half of 2023?
Among the S&P500, Dow Jones 30 and the Nasdaq 100, the best performers included:
- Travel stocks such as $Royal Caribbean (RCL.US)$ and $Wynn Resorts (WYNN.US)$ up 191%, and 76% respectively.
- While some entertainment and social media businesses flourished with $Netflix (NFLX.US)$ up 145%, and $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ s up 73%.
- Software giants/chip makers also dominated the leaderboard, with $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ up by 171%, and other semiconductor companies including $ON Semiconductor (ON.US)$ up 75% and $Applied Materials (AMAT.US)$ up 53%.
- And lastly, we also saw defence and military companies make it to the centre stage with $GE Aerospace (GE.US)$ up 117% and $Axon Enterprise (AXON.US)$ up 110% after the NATO alliance pledged for countries to put 2% of GPD toward defence.
Clients are investing in market leaders...
If we reflect on the most traded stocks at moomoo over the last year, we can see that clients have been investing in companies that are the leaders in their fields. Based on 12-months trading data up to 30 June 2023, the most traded stocks were:
$Tesla (TSLA.US)$ - the largest EV car maker by sales volume as at Q1 2023
$BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AU)$ - the world's largest mining company, with the biggest iron and copper resources
$TENCENT (00700.HK)$ - China's biggest listed company, and the global pioneer in internet-based tech
Investing ideas to consider...
Last week, I wrote about the stocks to watch in the wake of a trifecta of stimulus in China. Click here to read the article. I discussed why investors should be watching:
1- The Electric Vehicle industry and related stocks. This is on the back of China unveiling the biggest round of EV stimulus to boost sales in the way of $72.3 billion of tax breaks.
2- Building-sector-related companies; after China's central bank cut two key lending rates for the first time in a year. Investors need to reflect on potential building and construction stocks in HK and China.
3- Also, global commodity companies that supply resources that are needed to make building materials. For example, $BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AU)$ , the world's biggest iron ore producer sells the majority of its iron ore to China. Iron ore is the key ingredient needed in steel.
4- Consumer spending stocks. This is on the back of China wrapping up its first major shopping festival, after the pandemic, The 618 festival'.
News to watch that could move markets
News to watch that could move markets
One of the most important things to be across this week is that the US central bank, the Fed, will release their meeting minutes from their last policy meeting. Investors will dissect the minutes on Wednesday to gauge what the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook is.
On the data front, the latest US jobs report in the form of 'non-farm payrolls' will be released and is widely expected to show that jobs rose by 200,000 in June, which will be the lowest rise in jobs since December 2020, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at a seven-month high of 3.7%. Also- the ISM reports are likely to show a modest rise in service sector activity.
Happy Investing!
Report written Monday 8 July 2023.
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
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151499610 : BHP the big Australian, great investing over the long period, what could be safer and better, decent returns to, franked dividends along the way. Building a bigger better world for us all.
Jessica Amir OP : I have been blessed to have interviewed BHP's CFO a few times. I like how BHP are future proofing the business. Not only becoming a copper juggernaut, but also moving into fertizliers. Also - I agree. BHP has been one of the best dividend payers over the last couple of years. As for shareholder returns...there is lots of research about dividend payers delivering better shareholder returns (over the longer term) than non-dividend payers.
151499610 : Buying shares in BHP is like buying bricks to build a house, before you know it could be a mansion.