10 Stocks That Are About To Explode

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In this piece, we will take a look at ten stocks that are about to explode. If you want to skip our background of the stock market then take a look at 5 Stocks That Are About To Explode.

The stock market has been quite tumultuous recently. The Federal Reserve's rapid interest rate hikes that have pushed the rates to a two decade high have significantly changed today's investment dynamics and shaken up several industries. They have also made money market funds and the U.S. dollar quite attractive as well, with the greenback always eager to flex its claws at the slightest hint of more interest rate hikes.

Today's interest rate environment started shaping last year at quite an inopportune time. It came right at the time when inflation was rising in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic due to the lax fiscal policies of central banks all over the world. While this alone would not have shocked markets, inflation, which was already high due to the monetary policies, soared as the Russian invasion of Ukraine started and the global energy market was disrupted. Europe rushed to diversify its oil sourcing from Russia, and the sweet crude produced in Saudi Arabia became the oil of choice all over. At the same time, countries like Qatar benefited as a key component of Europe's energy diversification was choosing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet its energy needs.

The impact of this on the stock market was divided. On one side, growth stocks such as Apple and Meta sank as investors rushed away from companies whose revenues are tied to discretionary consumer income. However, on the other side, big and small oil companies saw both their share price and revenues soar as they benefited from the growth in demand for their products as well as record high prices.

2023, on the other hand, has been the exact opposite. Oil companies' revenue and share prices are coming back to Earth and big tech stocks are soaring. This trend reversal is due to the simple fact that inflation has started to come down and the U.S. economy has yet to enter a recession. The latter bit is particularly important since one of the biggest fears in the market last year was for a potential recession, which drove investors away from risky stocks in anticipation of a market downturn this year. However, aided by the hype surrounding artificial intelligence, U.S. stock indexes have set new records for their first half gains, and as we head toward the close of 2023, it appears that more positive news might be on the way.

The latest bit on the economic front comes in the form of the Labor Department's JOLTS report and a revision to the first second quarter's GDP figures. Overall, August has been a dour month for markets as they reversed some of their gains for the year but the close of the month provided some great news. Great, at least when the stock market is concerned. The penultimate trading day of August revealed that private payrolls as measured by the ADP National Employment Report saw 177,000 jobs added in July, which was nearly 20,000 jobs lower than consensus economist estimates. At the same time, GDP growth for the second quarter was revised downward to sit at 2.1%, which showed that the economy is taking hits from the current record high interest rates. Additionally, a crucial inflationary metric, namely the price index for purchases was revised to 1.7% from an earlier 1.9% to mark a sizeable drop from the 3.8% at which it had stood during the first quarter.