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Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, undoubtedly acts as a measure of consumers’ spending levels in the United States. Yet, the broader investor sentiment isn’t always impacted by the outcome of Black Friday sales. In fact, this year, the spread of a new variant of coronavirus roiled global markets, including the United States, on Black Friday.
The omicron variant of the coronavirus, more contagious than the Delta strain, has begun spreading in several parts of the world and has raised concerns about economic growth. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the new variant a concern, with many countries now announcing travel restrictions.
This development on the coronavirus front has wiped out November gains for the broader S&P 500 and the tech-laden Nasdaq. Additionally, the Dow plummeted by the maximum in a day on Black Friday since Oct 28, 2020, citing a MarketWatch article.
However, it isn’t clear that the market selloff during Black Friday will linger. The latest coronavirus development isn’t expected to subdue the broader bullish sentiments as an array of tailwinds is likely to help markets chug along. Notably, the positives have squashed concerns about lofty stock valuations and inflation worries. Thus, investing in growth-oriented stocks like AutoNation, Inc. AN, Devon Energy Corporation DVN, Beazer Homes USA, Inc. BZH, Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. ETD and Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited AOSL seems prudent.
Stock Market to Perform Well in the Near Term
Jerome Powell’s reappointment as the Fed Chair bodes well for the stock market for now. Investors are optimistic that his future policies will help the stock market stay afloat despite bottlenecks. Lest we forget, his accommodative monetary policy helped the stock market gain traction amid the coronavirus pandemic last year.
Let us also admit that the U.S. economy is in pretty good shape at the moment. From promising retail sales numbers, healthy labor market data to an uptick in industrial output, things are looking up for the economy vis-à-vis the stock market.
According to the Commerce Department, citing a CNBC article, sales at U.S. retailers increased 1.7% in October despite rising cost of goods and services. Moreover, a solid 531,000 new jobs were added during the said month, quoting a financial times article. To top it, industrial production rebounded and topped expectations last month.
5 Growth Stocks to Buy Right Away
Given the aforesaid positives, the stock market will likely scale upward, dismissing the Black Friday carnage. This calls for investing in the following stocks that at present flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Growth Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.