por admin » Mié Dic 26, 2012 10:48 am
9 de los 10 sectores del S&P 500 terminan el anio en azul, solo es sector utilities termina con perdidas.
El Mejor sector es el financiero, con la banca y las companias de seguros adelante. El sector financiero subio 26%.
S&P 500 in 2012: A Tale of Winners
Nine of the 10 Sectors in the Index Appear Set to End Year in Positive Territory; Banks, Insurers Lead
By KAITLYN KIERNAN
Nearly everyone got involved in the stock market's winning 2012: Nine of the 10 sectors in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index look set to end the year in positive territory.
Shares of banks, insurers and other financial companies were on track to post the biggest gains, soaring 26% from the start of the year through Dec. 21. Bank of America Corp., BAC +0.78%one of 2011's worst performers after the euro-zone debt crisis, a slew of layoffs and an uproar over bank fees, has more than doubled in value this year.
Close on the heels of the financial sector were consumer-discretionary stocks, which include retailers, cable and entertainment companies and restaurant chains. The group also includes homebuilders, whose shares doubled this year amid signs of recovery in the housing market; shares of PulteGroup Inc. PHM -0.30%nearly tripled this year, while Lennar Corp. LEN -0.05%nearly doubled.
Ongoing monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve drove the gains in financial and consumer stocks, analysts and investors said.
"The sector leaders are what one would expect with the [Fed] policy and with continued monetary injections into the economy this year" through bond purchases, said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at Oakbrook Investments LLC.
By pumping money into the economy, "the Fed boosts consumer confidence-and spending—which one would expect to boost consumer and financial" shares, he added.
Utilities were the only sector on track to end the 2012 in the red. The sector, which includes companies that produce or distribute natural gas and electricity, was down 1.8% through Friday. Companies such as Exelon Corp. EXC -0.07%of Chicago and Duke Energy DUK -0.40%of Charlotte, N.C., led those declines, as investors in search of yield turned to riskier assets.
Many investors remain bullish on stocks going into the new year, as economic indicators out of the U.S. remain encouraging. John Carey, executive vice president at Pioneer Investments, a money manager that oversees $200 billion, said he isn't cashing out now because he expects stocks to continue rising in early 2013.
"We've had good economic numbers, earnings are holding up, dividends are attractive, and balance sheets are solid," he said. "That would all tend to point to another year of moderate growth and a fairly good environment for stocks."
Mr. Carey said health-care stocks are still attractive after this year's 16% rise. Valuations had been beaten down over the past couple of years amid uncertainty about new health-care rules in the U.S., he said.
He also believes the technology sector, which this year is up 13%, has the potential to increase profits and boost share prices.
To be sure, the fiscal cliff continues to loom over both the economy and the stock market. It is unclear whether lawmakers in Washington will be able to avert steep tax hikes and budget cuts that are due to take effect in early January. Stock investors were spooked last week as talks stalled, with the S&P 500 falling 0.9% Friday.
On Monday, the index slipped another 0.2%.
"It is too early to tell where the strength will be next year because of the uncertainty with the fiscal cliff," said Mr. Jankovskis. "But if we see a good resolution, we can see more of the same, with financial and consumer-discretionary shares leading the way."