The Wall Street JournalUnited Airlines Stock Takes Off
The daily gain, which made United the top performer in the S&P 500, came after the airline reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and said a glut of cheap flights had subsided. United also said it would buy back $1.5 billion in shares. Delta Air Lines, which issued its quarterly report last week, and American Airlines, due to report next week, joined the rally, climbing 6.8% and 7.1% respectively.
Yahoo Finance VideoThe S&P 500 could hit 8,000 by end of the decade: Ed Yardeni
The bull market is officially two years old, and as investors head into the third year, Yardeni Research President Ed Yardeni explains what could lie ahead. Yardeni expects earnings to continue to push the market higher, especially as valuations are "already stretched." He adds that if valuations increase, it may spark a melt-up, which he tells Yahoo Finance, "You can make a lot of money still from here. But then you got to figure out when to get out. And then you have to get out pretty significantly." Overall, he expects earnings to drive market growth and support a bull market: "I'm thinking that the market goes up on earnings and that earnings, which were probably about $250 a share this year, go up to $275 a share next year, and $300 a share the year after that. By the way, by the end of the decade, I think we could be at $400 per share, which times a 20 multiple or so gets us to 8,000 on the S&P 500 (^GSPC). So I think it's still a bull market." With this market backdrop, Yardeni explains that he is Overweight on technology (XLK), industrials (XLI), and financials (XLF). On the other hand, he is "not too keen on" utilities (XLU) and other interest-rate-sensitive areas: "We don't think interest rates are going to come down as much as the market has been discounting." Watch the video above to hear what Yardeni thinks about the bond market (^TYX, ^TNX, ^FVX). To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination Overtime here. This post was written by Melanie Riehl
ZacksDefense ETF (SHLD) Hits New 52-Week High
This Defense ETF hits a new 52-week high. Are more gains in store for this ETF?
Yahoo Finance VideoSocial Security, student debt relief, holiday shopping: Wealth!
On today's episode of Wealth!, Host Brad Smith breaks down some of the top tips for everything from positioning your portfolio to planning your holiday shopping. As the third quarter earnings season kicks off, Keith Buchanan, GLOBALT Investments senior portfolio manager, breaks down what investors can expect. "The expectations for earnings have started to accelerate from mid-single digits to next year to mid-double digits. And coming into this fourth quarter is a real transition quarter from that lower healthy growth to robust growth," he tells Yahoo Finance. Thus, he expects areas like financials (XLF), industrials (XLI), and consumer discretionary (XLY) to be poised for growth heading into 2025, explaining, "Those valuations are miles away from where they traditionally trade on a relative to the broader S&P 500 (^GSPC)." The AI race is just getting started, and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood is betting big. Asking for a Trend Host Josh Lipton dives into Cathie Wood's OpenAI investment and why she's so bullish on the company. Black, Hispanic, and Latina women are newer to investing and focused on building generational wealth, a recent J.P. Morgan Wealth Management report found. JPMorgan Wealth Management head of communications Verónica Navarro Espinosa explains that education, accessibility, and confidence are helping break down barriers. “Investing is overwhelming. There is so much information everywhere that is hard to decide where you're going to go. But we're starting to see that there is a path forward. We're seeing people are starting to be more comfortable. Also, the tools to invest are becoming more accessible," she says. Despite cooling inflation, many American household budgets remain under pressure — particularly those of retirees. However, some relief may be on the way as Social Security's cost of living adjustment (COLA) is expected to increase benefits by 2.5%. Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Kerry Hannon breaks down the details, examining how this benefit adjustment is calculated, its impact on Social Security beneficiaries, and the broader challenges Americans face when saving for retirement. A Missouri federal judge placed an injunction on President Biden's SAVE student loan forgiveness plan, which features a clause to eliminate 100% of remaining interest for loan borrowers. As the plan sits in legal purgatory, Edvisors director of corporate communications Elaine Rubin breaks down the Biden administration's biggest hurdles in pushing forward its student loan forgiveness agenda. "So in this election year, we know that the Kamala [Harris] administration, they are aiming to continue some of the plans that the Biden administration has already started. So defending the SAVE Plan and going towards that broad forgiveness," Rubin explains. The fall travel season is officially here, and over half of travelers plan to manage the cost of their trips by cutting back on other expenses, according to Hopper. Hopper lead economist Hayley Berg notes that travelers should book their travel by October 14, when they can get the best airfare prices on their holiday travel. She adds that prices for holiday travel increase after Halloween. She also encourages travelers to be flexible with their travel dates, explaining that you can save about $200 per domestic ticket just by being flexible around your Thanksgiving and Christmas travel dates. While these holidays are the cheapest travel days, she explains that Monday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and Monday before Christmas Eve are the other cheapest times to fly. Consumers are shopping early for the holiday season, turning to retailers offering discounts, a recent CNET survey shows. Dashia Milden, CNET money editor, explains, "The majority of shoppers right now are planning on leaning on those early holiday sales. When we start thinking about [Amazon’s (AMZN)] Prime Day sales literally launching tomorrow. Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), Best Buy (BBY), you name it." On top of looking for deals, shoppers are also cutting down their holiday spending. She tells Yahoo Finance, “The majority of shoppers are shopping early to try to take advantage of some of those savings, and they're still making sacrifices. A percentage are spending less on non-essentials, such as travel and dining. People are setting smaller budgets, even and even choosing to go ahead and get fewer gifts. So when we start looking at that, it's very clear that the holidays are important and that they're willing to make some sacrifices in the meantime.” For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Melanie Riehl
Yahoo Finance VideoExpect growth in these undervalued sectors: Portfolio manager
As the third quarter earnings season kicks off, Keith Buchanan, GLOBALT Investments senior portfolio manager, joins Wealth! to break down what investors can expect. "The expectations for earnings have started to accelerate from mid-single digits to next year to mid-double digits. And coming into this fourth quarter is a real transition quarter from that lower healthy growth to robust growth. And a lot of that comes from not only being, of course, healthy growth from artificial intelligence... but also a widening of earnings growth and revenue growth that you can see beyond the traditional growth sectors like technology (XLK), consumer services (XLP). That's actually moving out some to industrials (XLI), energy (XLE). And that's more breadth to the earnings growth, which gives it a lot more stability over the near and longer term," Buchanan tells Yahoo Finance. As Wall Street heads into the year-end, Buchanan is focused on AI plays and value stocks. He highlights areas like financials (XLF), industrials (XLI), and consumer discretionary (XLY) that are poised for growth heading into 2025, explaining, "Those valuations are miles away from where they traditionally trade on a relative to the broader S&P 500 (^GSPC)." Volatility is expected in the months ahead amid rising Middle East tensions and the 2024 presidential election. Buchanan encourages investors to take into consideration geopolitical tensions when assessing their portfolios. However, he advises against making any moves tied to the election. "We want to take all of the incoming information that we have that could affect the consensus of where we're going economically, monetarily over the next two years. And take that into consideration when we're thinking about the long-term approach to our clients' assets," he concludes. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Melanie Riehl
etf.comWhy Invest in Defense ETFs? Everything to Know
Defense sector performance can be impacted by more than geopolitical events.
ZacksWill Airlines ETFs Gain as Strikes Disrupt US East and Gulf Coast Ports?
Airfreight rates may go higher on strikes in U.S. east and gulf coast.
Yahoo Finance UKHow to protect your investments in unstable markets
The fallout from the Middle East situation is shaking global markets.
- The Wall Street Journal
Defense Stocks Jump After Iran Attacks Israel
Major defense stocks advanced Tuesday after Iran launched missiles at Israel, raising the odds of a wider conflict. Lockheed Martin was among the S&P 500's best performers, while RTX shares hit an all-time high.
Yahoo Finance VideoLabor market in focus, port strike looms ahead: Morning Brief
On today's episode of Morning Brief, Hosts Seana Smith and Madison Mills analyze the market open and discuss some of the biggest stories of the trading day. All three of the major indexes (^DJI,^GSPC, ^IXIC) opened slightly lower on the last trading day of the third quarter. While September is a historically weak month for stocks, markets are on track for one of the strongest in over a decade as they rallied on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. Envestnet Solutions co-CIO and group president Dana D’Auria notes that while inflation continues to cool, all eyes have now turned to the state of the labor market. D’Auria stresses the importance of the upcoming September jobs data, explaining that employment data will be the "single biggest factor" weighed by the Fed ahead of its next interest rate decision. She argues that the market has been "overshooting on expectations of the Fed pretty substantially and pretty regularly." With some investors are pricing in another 50-basis-point cut in November, she pushes back, saying, "I wouldn't expect more than another 25-25 this year." As markets enter the fourth quarter, growth is visibly expanding beyond the tech sector. Charles Schwab's Director and Senior Investment Strategist Kevin Gordon explains that there isn't a "definitive leadership shift" from tech to defensive sectors. Instead, he observes that utilities (XLU) and related sectors are playing "catch-up" following the AI-driven tech boom. Notably, sectors like industrials (XLI), financials (XLF), and materials (XLB) are outperforming as cyclical parts of the market fare "relatively well." Gordon characterizes this as a broadening of the market rather than a clear-cut leadership change. Ports along the East and Gulf Coasts are bracing for a strike at midnight, as the International Longshoremen's Union is demanding higher pay and protection from automation for its port workers. Margaret Kidd, University of Houston instructional associate professor of supply chain and logistics technology, tells Yahoo Finance that some estimates project that a port strike could cost the US $5 billion per day. She notes that the last port strike was in 1977 and lasted for 45 days. Back then, trade only made up 16% of the US economy. Today, that figure is 28%; therefore, a port strike would be a "huge hit on the economy," Kidd explains. Meanwhile, the Boeing (BA) factory worker strike heads into its third week, with the union reporting talks with the company have broken off. Wall Street analysts have lowered their targets for Boeing stocks, citing costs associated with the strike. This post was written by Melanie Riehl