By Rachel Koning Beals | Bloomberg
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Consumer discretionary stocks have already logged an impressive run. But select names, thanks to housing-market strength, may not yet have hit the ceiling.
Consumer discretionary is a cyclical category that’s the beneficiary of an economic confidence boost. The benchmark S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector index rose 27% this year through July 12 and was up 19.5% annualized over the past five years.
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Such results would seem difficult to improve. Not necessarily. That’s because, by some analyst accounts, the housing market recovery is just underway. As it continues, so will the rally in consumer discretionary stocks. Read more: The housing recovery myth.