are among Firestone's top stock picks in that second group. These picks make up an odd trio of companies in waste management, home construction, and animal health — but the strategy connecting them is: "You can own all sorts of names that are not related to the China deal that are still growing earnings 10 percent."
Sherwin-Williams is up 8.5 percent week-to-date and remains on pace for its best week since November 2018. Waste Connections and Zoetis recently reached all-time highs. Investing in stocks unconnected to China is a theme Firestone carried over from Wednesday's "Halftime Report," when she cautioned against getting too deeply invested in the semiconductors. The sector recently surged on's strong earnings report but may remain volatile because a large portion of its revenue is tied to Chinese companies like Huawei.
So, while a lot hinges on the meeting between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies, a diversified portfolio is a good investment strategy. Firestone says, "If the question is, do we have to make an all-in bet — do we have to bet one way or the other — the answer is no." Disclosure: Karen Firestone owns shares of Facebook, Amazon, PayPal, Visa, Sherwin-Williams, Waste Connections, and Zoetis.
But they’ll be in indexes that will likely be pooled with stocks that have something to do with China..