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Wall Street Resumes Rally Bolstering September Rate Cut: 4 Winners

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In one of the most eventful weeks this year, Wall Street staged a solid rebound, with all three major indexes closing sharply higher. Markets pared all the losses suffered a week earlier after fears gripped Wall Street that the economy was heading toward a recession.

On Aug 16, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each closed 0.2% higher. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 3.9%, while the Dow ended up 2.9%. The Nasdaq ended with 5.2% gains for the week.

Last week was completely contrasting to the week before. On Aug 5, disappointing July payroll data and a sharp rise in the unemployment rate ignited fears that the Federal Reserve may have held interest rates higher for too long and the economy may have started slipping into a recession.

However, markets slowly started to stabilize from Aug 6 and pared almost all the losses by the end of the week after week following a better-than-expected jobless report.

The positive sentiment continued into last week with stocks rebounding from the earlier lows. The market rally resumed mid-last week after two key inflation data and the retail sales report boosted investors' morale.

The consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) both came in impressive. CPI rose 2.9% year over year in July, less than June’s rise of 3%. This was also the lowest pace of increase since March 2021.

Also, the producer price index advanced just 2.2% year over year in July, less than June’s year-over-year rise of 2.7%.

This came as retail sales data showed a solid jump in July. Retail sales grew 1% in July, after declining 0.2% in June and sharply higher than economists’ expectations of a rise of 0.3%.

A sharp decline in inflation and a robust retail sales report alleviated fears that the economy is slipping into a recession. This has again made investors hopeful about the Federal Reserve starting its rate cut cycle in September.

Markets are now pricing in a 50 basis-point rate cut in September, with two more cuts later this year.

Lower borrowing rates typically bode well for growth stocks like technology and consumer discretionary.

Given this scenario, we have narrowed our search to four consumer discretionary stocks such as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL - Free Report) , Interface, Inc. (TILE - Free Report) , Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (CNK - Free Report) and Traeger, Inc.(COOK - Free Report) , with strong potential for 2024.

These stocks have seen positive earnings estimate revisions in the last 60 days. Each of the stocks has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. owns and operates three global brands — Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. Additionally, RCL has a 50% investment in a joint venture with TUI AG, which operates the brand TUI Cruises. Royal Caribbean Cruises’ cruise brands primarily serve the contemporary, premium and deluxe segments of the cruise vacation industry, which also includes the budget and luxury segments.

Royal Caribbean Cruises’ expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 69.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3.6% over the past 60 days. RCL currently has a Zacks Rank #1.

Interface, Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer of modular carpet, which it markets under the Interface and FLOR brands. TILE is committed to the goal of sustainability and doing business in ways that minimize the impact on the environment while enhancing shareholder value. Interface is the world's largest manufacturer of modular carpet.

Interface’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 28%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 8.5% over the past 60 days. TILE presently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

Cinemark Holdings, Inc. is a leader in the motion picture exhibition industry. CNK operates 408 theatres and 4,657 screens in 38 states in the United States and internationally in 12 countries, mainly in Mexico, South and Central America.

Cinemark Holdings’ expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 0.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 22.7% over the past 60 days. CNK currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Traeger, Inc. provides wood pellet grill. COOK’s pellet grills utilize wood-fired convection power, owners can grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise and barbecue meals on one cooking system.

Traeger’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 100% over the past 60 days. COOK currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.


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