U.S. markets wavered Monday, with growth stocks and related exchange traded funds slightly higher, as rising Covid-19 infections fueled concerns over the economic recovery and dragged on cyclical sectors.
The energy sector was among the worst hit Monday due to higher coronavirus cases, especially in China, which raised fears of new governmental restrictions that would diminish economic activity and weigh on demand, Reuters reports.
“The concern is that we could be facing higher (interest) rates, with a potential slowdown caused by COVID-19, which is sort of a worst case scenario,” Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the strong earnings season has helped push equity benchmarks to record highs, despite the renewed coronavirus fears. As of Friday, analysts projected second-quarter profit growth of 93.1% for S&P 500 companies, according to Refinitiv data. Of the 443 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings, 87.4% beat analyst expectations, the highest on record.
“It’s been a very impressive earnings season. Forecasts were pretty high and lofty, but many companies still managed to meet and beat them,” Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors, told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s reaffirmed that despite all the concerns about weakening growth, the fundamentals have been strong for companies.”
Investors interested in the growth style can turn to targeted strategies like the American Century Focused Dynamic Growth ETF (FDG ), which is designed to invest in early-stage, high-growth companies. FDG is a high-conviction strategy designed to invest in early-stage, rapid-growth companies with a competitive advantage and high profitability, growth, and scalability.
Additionally, investors can look to the American Century STOXX U.S. Quality Growth ETF (QGRO ). QGRO’s stock selection process is broken down into high-growth stocks based on sales, earnings, cash flow, and operating income, along with stable-growth stocks based on growth, profitability, and valuation metrics.
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