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If you haven’t signed up for Sabrient’s 2012 Baker’s Dozen yet, it’s not too late. You can sign up below for the free, live interactive webcast at 4:30 pm est., today (Jan. 5). ~ Ilene
Courtesy of Scott Martindale, Sabrient Systems and Gradient Analytics
After closing 2011 at exactly the same level it closed out 2010, the S&P 500 came blasting out of the gate with guns a-blazing on Tuesday to celebrate the New Year. It was a welcome sight to scores of nervous investors.
While the S&P 500 price index finished 2011 flat, the Dow Jones Industrials finished the year up +5.5%, the Nasdaq was down -1.8%, and the Russell 2000 small cap was down -5.5%. Given that Utilities was the top-performing sector for the year, it is obvious that conservative, cash-generating, dividend-paying stocks were in favor, while riskier growth stocks were avoided.
To be sure, there has been–and there remains–plenty of reasons for investors to worry. Besides the unresolved debt crisis in Europe, i.e., the proverbial elephant in the room, there is instability in Russia from their elections, North Korea’s leadership succession, uprisings in the Arab world, the threat of Sunni/Shiite civil war in Iraq, and saber-rattling from Iran. All of this uncertainty has created a flight to safety mentality in which U.S. Treasuries and the U.S. dollar serve as the safe havens of choice among global investors, which has hindered equities.
Nevertheless, U.S. economic numbers continue show positive momentum, and that bodes well for equity investment. LEI, jobless claims and unemployment, housing starts and home sales, GDP, durable goods orders, industrial production, and consumer confidence have all shown improvement. Corporate earnings are robust and growing and corporate cash levels remain high, while interest rates remain historically low. Moreover, the spread between S&P 500 earnings yield and corporate bond yields is at a multi-decade high, making stocks look like a relative bargain.
Where to invest, you ask? Well, in case you haven’t yet registered, Sabrient’s annual “Baker’s Dozen” Top 13 Stocks for 2012 will be unveiled on Thursday afternoon in a free live WebCast. Sabrient’s founder and chief market strategist David Brown will be the main speaker, and Luke Rahbari of Stutland Volatility Group will offer his suggestions on how a trader might execute options trades on this list. Learn…
