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This week’s highlights:
Stocks are pushing to record highs. Why? Well, that’s not entirely clear. But this past week’s gains were led by healthcare (a big laggard this year) and industrial stocks (which have been big winners).
On the earnings side, it’s been a mixed bag for some of the market’s big names. Alphabet came in strong, with the search business defying expectations for a slowdown. Tesla, however, is looking shakier, with deliveries down even as the company says it is looking ahead toward robotics.
Meanwhile, it looks like more companies are taking hits from tariff costs, but perhaps none more dramatically than autos. The poster child for the tariff damage is GM. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for dramatic stock stories, check out Dow. The chemical company hacked its dividend in half and the stock cratered. Morningstar’s Seth Goldstein had warned about a dividend cut, but he thinks Dow stock is cheap.
We’ve got some big dogs reporting earnings in the week ahead. Check out what Morningstar’s analysts will be watching for when Apple and Amazon report. You can fund more of Morningstar’s earnings coverage here.
There will also be lots of focus on the Federal Reserve’s meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference. Virtually nobody expects a rate cut, but all eyes will be on how Powell (presumably without a hard hat) ducks questions about the pressure from President Donald Trump to lower interest rates. Check out Sarah Hansen’s Fed meeting preview to see what to watch for away from the Trump/Powell drama. Meanwhile, across the pond, the European Central Bank, which has been way ahead of the Fed in cutting rates, has finally hit the pause button.
There continued to be tariff news this week, with the United States and Japan coming to an agreement. As we noted last week, the US market has largely been suffering from headline fatigue and ignoring the tariff news. But in Japan, the agreement sparked a solid rally in stocks, especially automakers.
Additionally, this week, Morningstar launched coverage of five Japanese trading house stocks. Normally, this might be greeted with a yawn by US investors, but one very famous US stock picker, Warren Buffett, happens to love these stocks.
Speaking of stock pickers, this week, we’ve got an interview with one of the past decade’s best-performing large-growth fund managers. Loomis Sayles’ Aziz Hamzaogullari offers five of his favorite stocks: two that have worked, one that has been struggling, and two more of his own choosing. Check it out here.
As always, be sure to visit our Markets page for our latest coverage and live stock market updates along with our full weekly calendar of key upcoming data and events