Investors who do not hold the magnificent seven stocks are oblivious to the S&P 500 (SPY) and Dow Jones closing at fresh new records. Companies with a market cap of over $1 trillion account for around 75% of the gains. Investors will need to watch market breadth in the coming weeks. The rest of the market needs to rise with firms like Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), and Nvidia (NVDA) for confirmation of the bullish uptrend.
Nvidia created history when it added a massive $277 billion in market capitalization in a single day. Bulls cannot avoid buying the stock after the firm issued an outlook that asserts continued growth in AI spending.
The rest of the market is less sanguine. January inflation in the U.S. assures the Federal Funds rate will not change next month or in June. Conservative investors may park their money in CDs (a certificate of deposit) of at least 5% annually. So far this year, REITs traded sharply lower to adjust for the unchanging interest rates. W.P. Carey (WPC) lost 13.62% YTD while Realty Income (O) is down by 7.8%. Specialty REIT firm Crown Castle (CCI) lost 5.6% so far. The telecom infrastructure business is showing signs of modest performance in 2024.
