The Wall Street Journal announced the news as the S&P 500 hit an intraday record.
The S&P 500 touched an intraday record Monday, topping levels last seen more than a year ago in a reflection of investors’ bets that the U.S. economy remains a pocket of solidity in a troubled world.
The S&P 500 climbed above 2139 early Monday, exceeding its intraday record of 2134.72 hit in May 2015, before trading recently at 2134. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61 points, or 0.3% to 18208. The gains left the S&P 500 on pace to close at a record, with the Dow Industrials within 1 percentage point of the blue chip index’s record close of 18312.39.
Investors tend to rejoice when the market hits a peak. But what are the best investments when the stock market is high? They are not necessarily the ones that just went up. Stocks were propelled higher by an unexpectedly good jobs report boosted stocks across the board, the recovery of oil stocks and caution on the part of the Federal Reserve in raising interest rates. Do the factors that drove stocks up help us in deciding which are the best investments when the stock market is high? Or do we need to look at stocks that are lagging but have good intrinsic stock value?
Diamonds in the Rough
In general buying a stock because it just went up in value is not a good idea. The stock market goes up or down based on the best current information. If that stock you are looking at went up 20% that is where the market is valuing it today. The best investments when the stock market is high are not always the leaders. What stocks have been overlooked? These diamonds in the rough will typically have low P/E ratios but the potential for strong and continued future earnings. 24/7 Wall Street offers value stocks to buy now in a pricey market.
After years of relatively benign volatility, investors are getting a taste of something they are not very accustomed to. The Volatility Index (VIX) has been elevated since the start of the trading year, and with China, oil and other issues still stirring the pot, this could be the norm for the near future. One good idea is for investors to consider adding value stocks to their portfolios.
Their suggestions are Hewlett Packard Enterprise, 3M, Synchrony Financial and VMware. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is a high tech spinoff from Hewlett Packard with solid profits and promise. 3M is a diversified global manufacturer that pays a 2.51% commission. Synchrony is in consumer financial serves and is a comeback choice. YMware is also a comeback story. The company has a high tech niche in infrastructure solutions.
The point is to find the next batch of stocks that are likely to go up in price and hopefully keep climbing. These are the best investments when the stock market is high.
Keeping in mind the recent Brexit vote consider discount stocks related to that situation and their promise as the Brexit resolves itself.