From Laggards to Leaders: Why Basic Materials Are Beating the Market

If you had to pick the hottest sector from the last year, odds are that you’d choose technology or a firm tied to artificial intelligence. While that guess is correct, there is another, perhaps far more boring sector that has managed to beat the broader market in spades.

We’re talking about the basic materials names.

The producers of minerals, metals, chemicals, paper, and other economic building blocks have managed to go from the market’s pariah to a top performer in just a few years. The best part is that after years of underperformance, the sector is cheap. Meanwhile, there are plenty of long-term catalysts for the sector going forward. Basic materials stocks could be a great play for investors in the new year.