Stocks followed a familiar pattern this week. To start the week, tariff fears caused traders to sell the news. But as those fears abated, stocks revved higher, and by Thursday, all the major indices were near their all-time highs. Even with some selling after Friday’s jobs report, stocks are likely to close the week slightly higher.
The question is, where are investor dollars moving? Sector rotation is underway, as some technology stocks are trading lower due to concerns over AI spending. But it’s too early to tell who the new winners will be.
Next week, investors will get the latest reading on inflation with the January readings of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI). A benign reading on inflation will increase hopes for a rate cut in May or June, but a hot report will likely dampen those expectations and could send stocks lower.
However, the trend for stocks continues to be bullish, and profits are to be made. The MarketBeat team of analysts is here to help. Here are some of our most popular stories from this week.
New Year’s resolutions were made to be broken, but so far, the “No Buy” trend has legs. The movement, fueled by social media influencers, encourages consumers to drastically cut back their spending habits to fight inflation and reduce their credit card debt. Jea Yu explained that this could impact consumer discretionary stocks, but some names could be winners.
In a related article, Yu checked in on three stocks that could benefit from the “Returnuary” phenomenon. This is when consumers return their holiday presents to retailers. Yu noted that this market is now valued at nearly $900 billion and could make three stocks big winners.
Articles by Thomas Hughes
Amazon’s stock is down after earnings on concerns over lower cloud revenue. But with the stock over 200% in the last couple of years, and analyst sentiment continuing to be strong, Quirke suggested that any pullback may create a solid entry point for investors looking to get in or add to their position.
Quirke showed a similar story emerging for Alphabet. The stock was up about 30% in the 12 months heading into earnings. Some investors are concerned that Alphabet’s Google Search business may be acutely affected by DeepSeek. However, Quirke explained why the 8% pullback may be an opportunity for risk-tolerant investors to get off the sidelines.
Articles by Chris Markoch
Tesla Inc. NASDAQ: TSLA stock was already down in 2025, and it has fallen further since the company’s earnings report. Ryan Hasson reminded investors that TSLA stock will continue to be a high-risk, high-reward stock and offered his analysis of the factors to consider after the earnings report.
Financial stocks soared in January, but Hasson noted that there are technical signals that investors may be rotating out of financials. This could set up an opportunity in utilities stocks, which continue to lag the broader market early in 2025.
Gold has been one of the best-performing asset classes in 2024, and it hasn’t lost any of its luster so far in 2025. Hasson noted that gold hitting a record high is moving gold mining stocks, and he highlights three gold stocks that still have upside for investors.
Articles by Gabriel Osorio-Mazilli
Many investors are choosing to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a way around this market volatility. Osorio-Mazilli gave investors three ETFs that give investors broad exposure to themes likely to outpace the market in 2025.
Shareholder equity is a way that companies reward buy-and-hold investors. Two common ways companies build shareholder equity are through share buybacks and dividends. This week, Leo Miller highlighted three companies that have recently announced new or expanded buyback programs that total billions of dollars.
Miller also put the spotlight on three large-cap companies that recently raised their dividend payouts. And in each case, the company offers a dividend yield higher than the S&P 500 average of 1.2%.
Reiff also noted the strong performance of several ETFs that may allow them to outpace the S&P 500 like some did in 2024. If you’re looking for some of these high-performing funds, Reiff provides four funds that are outperforming the S&P 500 so far in 2025.
Finally, this week, long-suffering investors in real estate investment trusts (REITs) continue to wait for a decline in interest rates. They may have to wait a little longer, but Reiff offered up three REITs that are likely to grow now due to sector strength. And you can add to your position as the timing of interest rate cuts becomes clearer.
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