Investors are eyeing everything from the U.S. healthcare sector to UK stocks and gold as potential havens during a recession, as worries grow that the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases will bring on an economic downturn next year.
Recessions are usually bad news for stocks, though some investors believe 2022's sharp decline in equities suggests a degree of slowdown has already been factored in. The S&P 500 has fallen as much as 25.2% from its all-time high this year, compared to an average decline of 28% the index has recorded in recessions since World War Two, according to data from CFRA Research. The index is down 14.6% year-to-date.
In their 2023 outlook, strategists at the BlackRock Investment Institute recommended stocks in the healthcare sector, an area where demand is thought to be less sensitive to economic fluctuations. The S&P 500 Health Care sector is down around 1.7% year-to-date, handily beating the broader index's performance.
JPMorgan's analysts forecast a "mild recession" and expect the S&P 500 to test its 2022 lows in the first quarter of next year. Above-average valuations and Fed hawkishness make U.S. stocks unattractive in comparison with other developed markets, the bank said, naming the UK as its top pick. Fourth-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 are expected to fall 0.4% compared with the same time period last year, before rebounding over the course of the year and hitting a 9.9% growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Refinitiv data.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ulta Beauty Beats Wall Street Estimates in Third Quarter, Upgrades Full-Year ForecastHigher prices at the checkout are not deterring shoppers from stocking up on makeup and skin care at UltaBeauty.
Read more »
How Wall Street Is Making Jerome Powell’s Job HarderOn Wednesday, the Fed Chair Jerome Powell sketched out a positive scenario in which inflation gradually comes down throughout 2023, the economy manages to avoid a recession, and the unemployment rate doesn’t rise drastically.
Read more »
Wall Street ends mixed; Salesforce selloff pressures DowWall Street ended mixed on Thursday as a selloff in Salesforce weighed on the Dow, while traders digested U.S. data that suggested the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes are working.
Read more »
Stock Market Today: Report Shows U.S. Economy Added 263,000 Jobs in November, Dow, Nasdaq DownStocks dropped, with the Dow down about 300 points, and Treasury yields jumped after the jobs report showed strong hiring and wage growth
Read more »
Stock Market Today: What to WatchU.S. stock futures wobbled Thursday, pointing to a pause in the market rally that propelled the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a new bull market a day earlier
Read more »
Goldman Sachs warns traders of shrinking bonus pool as Wall Street hunkers downWall Street is grappling with sharp declines in revenue after parts of the industry involved in taking companies public and issuing stocks and bonds seized up.
Read more »