) are all up 8% or more so far in the third quarter, after the companies posted strong earnings and forecasts, extending rallies that have lifted each company's shares by 40% or more since the start of the year. The benchmark S&P 500, meanwhile, has shed 2.3% since the start of the quarter as fears of a currency war between the United States and China lead more investors to question the strength of the global economy.
Bank stocks and other financials took an additional hit on Tuesday, hurt by increased expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates three more times by year-end. Katie Nixon, chief investment officer at Northern Trust Wealth Management, described the market as “stick-to-what’s-working,” saying that “we’re nowhere near a capitulation.
S&P 500 companies whose full-year earnings per share estimates have been raised by analysts this reporting season have also outperformed since the index began its drop from the July 26 record high, reflecting investors’ greater confidence in those companies earnings.
Remember when fundamentals was all that mattered? Oh, I am old aren’t I...