As the Dow cracked 572 points on Friday, there were two sectors that stood tall, consumer goods – processed & packaged goods and utilities.
That sentiment was reflected last week on the Most Watched Stocks List as Kellogg Co. moved up 3 places from the 74th position to the 71st. Colgate-Palmolive moved up from 90th to the 88th position. General Mills moved up a spot to the 53rd position and Duke Energy, the electric utilities company, moved up to the 11th spot. A clear sign that investors were in a risk-off mood. Many industries in the utilities sector and in the consumer goods sector were the best performers last week as their stocks held steady.
As the Volatility Index (VIX) once again crossed 20, mostly due to President Trump’s $100 billion tariff comment, investors turned toward sectors that perform well during times of recession. As Trump’s tweets and comments make the stock market look like a reality TV show that keeps everyone guessing on what the next episode will be, Trump has now called Chinese President Xi Jinping his friend.
Markets can always handle bad news but they cannot handle uncertainty. Investors have tried to move the market along with the hope that, ultimately, the U.S. and China would come to some middle ground on trade as they cheered along even the slightest of positive news last week. As earnings season is about to begin in a week, the market would hope that that could be a major catalyst that can move the market ahead.
Our Most Watched Stocks List is a user-generated, interest-based ranking of dividend-paying stocks, giving you a real-time snapshot of buying interest in the market. Generated by our Premium members’ watchlists, it’s aggregated and ranked by the most watched criteria.
The list has been designed to help income investors navigate the top dividend stocks being tracked by one of the world’s most advanced investing communities.
