U.S. stocks were lower on Friday morning following higher-than-expected inflation numbers, which lowers expectations for a rate cut in the near term. The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.3%. Core PPI rose 0.6%, the largest increase since January 2023, with both readings well ahead of their expected 0.1% increase. The latest readings bring annual PPI to 0.9% and core PPI to 2.6%. On the earnings front, Coinbase Global (COIN) shares rose 15% after it reported a profit. The S&P 500 was nearly flat, up 0.01%, the Dow was down less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq fell 0.2%. Crude oil traded above $78 per barrel and gold was up 0.3% to $2021 per ounce.

Rapidly rising inflation in 2022 knocked stocks into a bear market. While growth strategies suffered the most, value strategies also declined. Even bond prices were lower last year. Stocks have recovered thus far in 2023, but gains have been largely driven by only a handful of high-tech companies. Inflation remains high and the Fed continues to raise rates. Is a recession in the offing? With all the uncertainty, is it time for investors to cash in their chips? We note that investors exit the stock market at their own peril, as long-term returns from equities consistently have outpaced long-term returns from other asset classes, such as fixed income and cash. Argus believes that Min Vol is an all-weather strategy that is timely in any investing climate. Academic literature and, more to the point, returns history, indicate that Min Vol can deliver market-matching returns on an absolute basis and superior returns on a risk-adjusted basis over various time periods.

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The retailers are out in force, with a massive marketing push to win dollars during this prime shopping time during the holidays. Just like retail, some stocks are seemingly at a big discount right now. Yes, we have our own Black Friday on Wall Street. But shop with care. We look for quality companies with solid books, proven track records, and strong management. This week, we used the Argus screening tool to create a list of companies that have clean balance sheets, high levels of profitability, and that we think are also undervalued and offer possible buying opportunities. We sorted the Argus stock universe for companies with a BUY rating, a market cap over $8 billion, and the highest financial strength ratings. Then we looked for those that are furthest away from their 52-week highs, and thus likely offering the deepest discounts. The resulting list is weighted towards Financial. That's not surprising based on the beating that the Financial sector took earlier this year after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Here is our list of recommended Black Friday Stock Deals for November 2023.

Stocks fell on Thursday morning as investors weighed a new round of earnings reports and weekly employment data. Walmart shares fell nearly 8% despite strong 3Q results after the company warned of a slowdown in consumer spending. Network gear maker Cisco also fell sharply after lowering its FY24 guidance. On the employment front, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ended November 11, above the Reuters consensus of 220,000. The Dow fell 0.4%, the S&P 0.1%, and the Nasdaq 0.1%. Crude oil fell sharply to $73 per barrel, while gold jumped $22 to $1986 per ounce.

In this edition, 3M's moat narrows; cybersecurity firms shine; P&C insurers' outlooks differ; and Hanesbrands, Grab Holdings, and Evergy.

When it comes to generating earnings for the S&P 500, we think it makes sense to focus primarily on a few key sectors that can actually make a difference. As an example, the Real Estate sector, which accounts for about 2% of S&P 500 capitalization, is expected to contribute only 1% of S&P 500 EPS during the upcoming 3Q EPS period, which starts next month. Basic Materials is another 2% market weight that may generate 2% of total earnings. We don't think it makes sense to spend a lot of time on deep dives trying to get these sectors right. The groups that really make a difference are going to be Technology, which is expected to account for 19% of the upcoming earnings, and Financial Services and Healthcare, which are expected to account for 18% and 15%, respectively. (Perhaps not surprisingly, these are three economic sectors in which the United States enjoys competitive advantages versus other nations.) Overall, the consensus is forecasting another negative quarter for earnings, with preliminary estimates calling for a year-over-year decline of 3%. Drilling deeper and excluding the Energy sector, which contributes about 8% of EPS, growth should be positive, at around 4%. What are the forecasts for the Big 3? Financial earnings are expected to grow 12% year-over-year, while Technology earnings are forecast to expand at a 6% rate. Healthcare remains under pressure, and profits are forecast to decline about 10% this quarter.

Stocks fell on Thursday, extending yesterday's Fed-driven selloff. While the central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday, the 'dot-plot' expectations of Fed officials pointed to another rate hike later this year and indicated that rate cuts next year would be slower than previously expected. On the employment front, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to 201,000 for the week ended September 16. Turning to stocks, shares of Cisco are down after the announcement the company will purchase cybersecurity and data analytics firm Splunk (SPLK) for around $28 billion in cash. The Dow fell 1.1%, the S&P 1.6%, and the Nasdaq 1.8%. Crude oil fell 1% to $89.50 per barrel, while gold traded near $1940 per ounce.

Stocks fell sharply on Thursday, extending their recent losses. Investors weighed strong earnings from Walmart and Cisco, along with news that Blue Shield of California would drop CVS Health as its pharmacy benefit manager and begin working with Amazon in order to cut costs. CVS shares fell sharply, as did the shares of other health insurers that provide PBM services. On the employment front, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 239,000 for the week ended August 12, slightly below the Reuters consensus forecast of 240,000. Continuing claims rose by 32,000 to 1.716 million. The Dow fell 0.84%, the S&P 0.77%, and the Nasdaq 1.17%. Crude oil rose slightly to $80 per barrel, while gold fell $9 to $1919 per ounce.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

Rapidly rising inflation in 2022 knocked stocks into a bear market. While growth strategies suffered the most, value strategies also declined. Even bond prices were lower last year. Stocks have recovered thus far in 2023, but gains have been largely driven by only a handful of high-tech companies. Inflation remains high and the Fed continues to raise rates. Is a recession in the offing? With all the uncertainty, is it time for investors to cash in their chips? We note that investors exit the stock market at their own peril, as long-term returns from equities consistently have outpaced long-term returns from other asset classes, such as fixed income and cash. Argus believes that Min Vol is an all-weather strategy that is timely in any investing climate. Academic literature and, more to the point, returns history, indicate that Min Vol can deliver market-matching returns on an absolute basis and superior returns on a risk-adjusted basis over various time periods.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

Stocks were mostly higher on Thursday morning amid signs of progress on a debt ceiling deal in Washington and strong earnings from Walmart. WMT shares rose after the retailer reported stronger-than-expected fiscal 1Q results, and raised its full-year EPS guidance. The Dow fell 0.1%, the S&P rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.1%. Crude oil fell 1% to $72 per barrel while gold fell $29 to $1956 per ounce.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

We recently raised our rating on the Technology sector to Over-Weight from Market-Weight. As interest rates start to fall, IT demand in enterprise and data center markets is holding up. And mounting interest in ChatGPT could herald the age of AI, which could be a huge industry driver. Over the long term, we expect the Technology sector to benefit from pervasive digitization across the economy, greater acceptance of transformative technologies, and the development of the Internet of Things (IoT). Healthy company and sector fundamentals are also positive. For individual companies, these include high cash levels, low debt, and broad international business exposure. The sector is outperforming the market thus far in 2023, with a gain of 12.4%. Tech underperformed the market in 2022, with a loss of 28.9%, and outperformed in 2021, with a gain of 33.4%. The P/E ratio on projected 2023 earnings is 23, above the market multiple. Earnings are expected to grow 14.5% in 2023 after having fallen 3.3% in 2022. Earnings rose 37.9% in 2021 and 7.7% in 2020. The sector's debt ratios are below the market average, as is the average dividend yield of 0.5%. Here is how we use our analysts' Technology sector ideas in our Focus List and Model Portfolios.

The current advance by the large-cap indices has occurred because of some very nice gains in the mega-cap stocks, that within the context of an overall neutral-to-poor period of market breadth. Over the past six months (since the start of October) as well as the year-to-date, the leader-board is littered with mega-caps, mostly from the Technology sector. At the same time, the Nasdaq 100 advance-decline line has improved -- but remains range bound. Interestingly, we heard the same complaint in the late 1990s -- which was a pretty good time for the QQQs and the S&P 500.

Stocks fell on Thursday morning following more hot inflation data. The Labor Department said that its producer price index for final demand rose 0.7% in January after a 0.2% decline in December. The increase was the largest since last June and topped the Reuters consensus forecast of 0.4% growth. Year-over-year growth in the PPI slowed to 6.0% from 6.5% in December, but exceeded the consensus forecast of 5.4%. Housing market data was weak, as January housing starts fell 4.5% from the prior month and missed the consensus forecast. The Dow fell 0.7%, the S&P 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 0.6%. Crude oil fell slightly to $78 per barrel, while gold fell $3 to $1843 per ounce.

Rapidly rising inflation 2022 knocked stocks into a bear market. While growth strategies suffered the most, value strategies also declined. Even bond prices were lower last year. Volatility, which has dropped from the highs of 2020, still has not returned to pre-COVID levels. Is it time for investors to cash in their chips? We note that investors exit the stock market at their own peril, as long-term returns from equities consistently have outpaced long-term returns from other asset classes, such as fixed income and cash. As well, those fixed-income returns are from eras when the 10-year Treasury bond yield was much higher than the current 3.5% level. So what's a potential equity strategy for investors amid all the uncertainty? Argus believes that Min Vol is an all-weather strategy that is timely in any investing climate.

Sustainable Impact Investing, or ESG investing, is gaining traction not only with Argus Research clients but also with the global investment community. BlackRock CEO Lawrence Fink, who oversees approximately $9 trillion in assets, announced in January 2020 that his firm would be investing in companies that are making progress on sustainability. He doubled down in his January 2021 letter, calling on company managements to disclose their plans for making their businesses "compatible with a net-zero economy" by 2050. As assets have flowed in over the past 40 years, Sustainable Impact Investing has evolved. The discipline, originally known as Socially Responsible Investing, focused at first on excluding companies that conducted business in South Africa, or participated in industries such as tobacco, alcohol, and firearms. Performance of these initial strategies lagged, and the approach has been modified. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all industries that can have an "impact" on global issues such as climate, hunger, poverty, disease, shelter, and workers' rights.

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The retailers are out in force, with a massive marketing push to win consumer dollars during this key holiday shopping season. One dubious gift from 2022 is much lower stock prices. Just like retail merchandise, stocks seemingly are at a big discount right now. But investors must shop with care, focusing, in our opinion, on quality companies with solid finances, proven track records, and strong management teams. This week, we used the Argus Screening Tool to find a list of companies that appear to be low risk, have strong balance sheets, and seemingly represent undervalued opportunities. Specifically, we screened the Argus Universe of Coverage for companies with a BUY rating, a market cap over $8 billion, and with a HIGH financial strength rating from Argus. Then we sorted for those furthest away from their Argus 12-month target price (suggesting a deep discount). The following list is weighted towards Technology -- which is not surprising after the beating the sector has taken so far this year.

Stocks pared early losses on Thursday, but still finished in negative territory. Investors weighed earnings reports from major retailers and tech companies, along with new housing market and employment data. Housing starts fell a sharp 4.2% to an annualized 1.425 million in October, but topped the consensus forecast. Building permits fell 2.4% to 1.526 million, also above consensus. On the employment front, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to 222,000 for the week ended November 12, below the consensus forecast. Continuing claims rose slightly from the prior week to 1.507 million. The Dow fell 0.02%, the S&P 0.31%, and the Nasdaq 0.35%. Crude oil fell 4% to $82 per barrel, while gold fell $13 to $1763 per ounce.

The broad market selloff on September 13 still feels raw, and the Federal Reserve has left no doubt that it will fight inflation vigorously for as long as it takes. Stocks, and likely many portfolios, are feeling some pain. In volatile times like these, when selling is widespread, a classic investing strategy is to focus on “best in class” stocks. These are the strongest and most-stable stocks in each sector -- and by looking across sectors, diversification can also be achieved. To get our list this week, we ran multiple screens. We started with the Argus Min-Vol theme model portfolio. As the name suggests, that portfolio includes companies that likely can best withstand market fluctuations. We then shortlisted the group by also screening for financial strength and dividend yield. And, finally, we picked one stock from each of the 11 S&P sectors. The following stocks are our Best in Class for Safety recommendations for September 2022, and all of them currently carry an Argus BUY rating.

Stocks finished slightly higher in volatile trading on Thursday as investors weighed new comments on interest rates from Fed officials, mixed results from major retailers, and weekly employment data. The Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 2,000 to 250,000 for the week ended August 13, below the consensus forecast of 265,000. Continuing claims rose slightly from the prior week. The Dow rose 0.06%, the S&P 0.23%, and the Nasdaq 0.21%. Crude oil rose more than 2% to $90 per barrel, while gold fell $5 to $1772 per ounce.

Rapidly rising inflation in 2022 has knocked the stock market into a bear market. While growth strategies have suffered the most, value strategies also have declined. Even year-to-date bond prices are lower. Volatility, which has dropped from the highs of 2020, still has not returned to pre-COVID levels. Is it time for investors to cash in their chips? We note that investors exit the stock market at their own peril, as long-term returns from equities consistently have outpaced long-term returns from other asset classes, such as fixed income and cash. As well, those returns are from eras when the 10-year Treasury bond yield was much higher than the current 3.0% level. So what's a potential equity strategy for investors amid all the uncertainty? Argus believes that Min Vol is an all-weather strategy that is timely in any investing climate. Academic literature and, more to the point, returns history, indicate that Min Vol can deliver market-matching returns on an absolute basis and superior returns on a risk-adjusted basis over various time periods.

Sustainable Impact Investing, or ESG investing, is gaining traction not only with Argus Research clients but also with the global investment community. BlackRock CEO Lawrence Fink, who oversees approximately $9 trillion in assets, announced in January 2020 that his firm would be investing in companies that are making progress on sustainability. He doubled down in his January 2021 letter, calling on company managements to disclose their plans for making their businesses "compatible with a net-zero economy" by 2050. As assets have flowed in over the past 40 years, Sustainable Impact Investing has evolved. The discipline, originally known as Socially Responsible Investing, focused at first on excluding companies that conducted business in South Africa, or participated in industries such as tobacco, alcohol, and firearms. Performance of these initial strategies lagged, and the approach has been modified. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all industries that can have an "impact" on global issues such as climate, hunger, poverty, disease, shelter, and workers' rights.

Stocks were mixed in volatile trading on Thursday morning, a day after Wednesday's sharp selloff, as the S&P continued to approach bear-market levels. Cisco shares fell 13%, despite above-consensus earnings, after the company offered disappointing guidance for the current fiscal fourth quarter. Kohl's also cut its full-year sales and earnings guidance, though the shares rose more than 2% after dropping sharply in the retail selloff on Wednesday. The Dow fell 0.7%, the S&P fell 0.2%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.2%. Crude oil rose slightly to $110 per barrel, while gold rose $31 to $1847 per ounce.

The onset of the coronavirus in 2020 knocked stocks into a bear market. Though equities recovered, the U.S. economy is about to slow down and COVID-19 cases are rising again as virus variants spread. Volatility, which has dropped from the highs of 2020, still has not returned to pre-COVID levels. Daily prices can swing wildly, as they did three times in 2021 when stocks dropped 4%-5% in a matter of a few days. Is it time for investors to cash in their chips? We note that investors exit the stock market at their own peril, as long-term returns from equities consistently have outpaced long-term returns from other asset classes, such as fixed income and cash. As well, those returns are from eras when the 10-year Treasury bond yield was not sub-2.0%. So what's a potential equity strategy for investors amid all the uncertainty? Argus believes that Min Vol is an all-weather strategy that is timely in any investing climate. Academic literature and, more to the point, returns history indicate that Min Vol can deliver market-matching returns on an absolute basis and superior returns on a risk-adjusted basis over various time periods.

Sustainable Impact Investing is gaining traction with the global investment community. In January 2020, BlackRock CEO Lawrence Fink, who oversees approximately $9 trillion in assets, announced that his firm would be investing in companies that are making progress on sustainability. He doubled down in his January 2021 letter, calling on company managements to disclose their plans for making their businesses "compatible with a net-zero economy" by 2050. As assets have flowed in over the past 40 years, Sustainable Impact Investing has evolved. The discipline, originally known as Socially Responsible Investing, focused at first on excluding companies that conducted business in South Africa, or participated in industries such as tobacco, alcohol, and firearms. But the performance of these initial strategies lagged, and the approach has been modified. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all industries that can have an "impact" on global issues such as the climate, hunger, poverty, disease, shelter, and workers' rights.

Stocks fell on Thursday morning following earnings reports from major tech companies and new weekly employment data. Cisco shares fell more than 8% after the company warned of supply-chain disruptions and projected below-consensus fiscal 2Q22 revenue. On the positive side, Nvidia shares jumped more than 9% following much better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results. The Dow fell 0.5%, the S&P 0.1%, and the Nasdaq 0.1%. Crude oil fell to $78 per barrel, while gold traded near $1862 per ounce.

The Technology sector started slowly in 2021 as investors focused on value stocks. But the sector has come on strong in recent months (up 22% year-to-date) and now is outperforming the market (up 20.7%) as well as value sectors such as Consumer Staples (+8%), Utilities (+10%), Materials (+17%), and Industrials (+18%). The sector is the largest in the U.S. market and now accounts for more than 28% of the S&P 500. Over the long term, we expect the sector to benefit from pervasive digitization across the economy, greater acceptance of transformative technologies, and the development of the Internet of Things (IoT). Healthy company and sector fundamentals are also positive. For individual companies, these include high cash levels, low debt, and broad international business exposure. We have an Over-Weight ranking on the Tech sector and think investors should look to allocate up to 30% of their diversified portfolios to the group. Here is how we use our analysts' Tech sector ideas in our Focus List and Model Portfolios.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Argus Outlook for Growth Sectors

The onset of the coronavirus in 2020 knocked the stock market into a bear market. Though stocks have recovered, the U.S. economy is about to slow down and COVID-19 cases are rising again as virus variants spread. Volatility, which has dropped from the highs of 2020, still has not returned to pre-COVID levels. Daily prices can swing wildly, as they did during two consecutive days in mid-July when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 1,000 points. Yet investors exit the stock market at their own peril, as long-term returns from equities consistently have outpaced long-term returns from other asset classes. Argus believes that Min Vol is an all-weather strategy that is timely in any investing climate and can deliver market-matching returns on an absolute basis and superior returns on a risk-adjusted basis over various time periods.

Stocks rose on Thursday morning after three days of losses, led by the Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors. On the employment front, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 444,000 for the week ended May 15, down from 478,000 a week earlier and slightly below the Bloomberg consensus of 450,000. The Dow rose 0.6%, the S&P 0.8%, and the Nasdaq 1.4%. Crude oil fell to $63 per barrel, while gold traded near $1879 per ounce.

This edition features the future of networking; European food delivery; online education; and notes from GE, Costco, and Snowflake.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

Earnings Help Support a Stretched Market

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

The Technology sector has led the market recovery from the COVID-19 depths of March 2020. Through November 20, the sector was up 31% for the year, compared to a 10% gain for the S&P 500. The Tech sector is the largest in the U.S. market and now accounts for more than 27% of the S&P 500. Over the long term, we expect the Tech sector to benefit from pervasive digitization across the economy, greater acceptance of transformative technologies, and the development of the Internet of Things (IoT): Healthy company and sector fundamentals are also positive. For individual companies, these include high cash levels, low debt, and broad international business exposure. We have an Over-Weight ranking on the Tech sector and think investors should look to allocate up to 30% of their diversified portfolios to the group. Here is how we use our Tech sector ideas from our analysts in our Focus List and Model Portfolios.

Stocks rose modestly on Friday morning, led by the Energy and Industrial sectors, despite concerns about record new coronavirus cases in the U.S. New cases rose to more than 160,000 on Thursday, just eight days after reaching 100,000 for the first time, and hospitalizations rose to more than 67,000. On the earnings front, Disney shares rose 2% despite a fiscal 4Q loss, as the company reported much stronger-than-expected subscriber growth for its Disney+ streaming service. Cisco shares also rose more than 6% after the company posted better-than-expected fiscal 1Q revenues and earnings. The Dow rose 0.8%, the S&P 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 0.4%. Crude oil fell nearly 2% to $40.50 per barrel, while gold rose $19 to $1892 per ounce.

Sustainable Impact Investing is gaining traction not only with Argus Research clients, but also with the global investment community. In January, BlackRock CEO Lawrence Fink, who oversees approximately $7 trillion in assets, announced that his firm would be investing in companies that are making progress on sustainability. Mr. Fink's new focus follows rapid growth in sustainable assets in recent years. According to Opimas, a management consultancy focused on global capital markets, global assets under management in ESG strategies had grown to $40.5 trillion in 2020, doubling in four years and tripling in eight years. There were almost 400 ESG strategies launched in the Morningstar investment universe in 2019, compared with around 160 launches in 2016. The UN Principles for Responsible Investing -- to which Argus Research is a signatory -- now represents more than 1,750 signatories with assets of US $80 trillion, according to Barron's. As assets have flowed in, SRI investing has evolved over the past 40 years. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all businesses that can have an "impact" on global issues such as workers' rights, poverty, hunger and the climate. Based on numerous requests from clients, we have compiled a list of companies followed by Argus Research that are in position to have this type of "sustainable impact" on the environment, workplace and community. These firms have exemplary records not only in delivering on the bottom line, but also in improving the environment, contributing to community relations, and showing respect for their employees. We derived our list by identifying companies that are either BUY-rated or HOLD-rated by Argus analysts, and also score highly on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria established by the JUST Capital Foundation. JUST Capital utilizes a combination of polling, data-driven research, and strategic engagement to shift behaviors and activities in corporate America and the financial markets. JUST Capital's mission is to drive measurable corporate change to create a stakeholder-centric, inclusive form of capitalism that reflects the priorities of the American public. JUST ranks the Russell 1000 on these criteria against a scale of 1-100. Here are the companies in the Argus Universe that score highest on the scale. All are rated BUY at Argus.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

The stock market has continued to move higher; as it has done so, anxiety about valuations continues to ratchet higher. But a few things have changed. As we have pointed out, some formerly favored areas of the market, such as FAANG Tech, have slipped lately; and formerly out-of-favor sectors have taken the lead. Sector rotation within an equity rally is always a good thing, and never more so than in this year -- as digital shelter-in-place enablers have dominated the advance through most of the recovery rally.

The stock market has continued to move higher; as it has done so, anxiety about valuations continues to ratchet higher. But a few things have changed. As we have pointed out, some formerly favored areas of the market, such as FAANG Tech, have slipped lately; and formerly out-of-favor sectors have taken the lead. Sector rotation within an equity rally is always a good thing, and never more so than in this year -- as digital shelter-in-place enablers have dominated the advance through most of the recovery rally.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.