Weekly Stock List

Summary

Stocks started a new bull market in 2Q23, as the S&P 500 climbed 20% above bear-market lows from last October. For the quarter, the index climbed about 8%. Performance was narrow in 2Q, led by last year’s laggard sectors, including Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, and Technology. Last year’s top-performing sector, Energy, and the Utility sector, were the worst performers in 2Q23. The average stock in the diversified Argus Universe of Coverage rose 4% in the quarter, and the median stock advanced 2%. The average Argus BUY-rated stock rose 5.7%, while the average HOLD-rated stock gained 1.2%. We recently raised our sector rating on Consumer Discretionary to Over-Weight, as the employment environment is strong. We also look for a pick-up in EPS growth in Communication Services and Technology, and expect these groups to pace broad market performance. Below are the top 10 performers from the Argus Universe in 2Q23, many from Technology and Communication Services. After that, we list the bottom five performers.