The article reviews the past week in the markets, highlighting the initiation of a new investment position and discussing the top gainers and laggards of 2025, providing insights into market trends and investor activity.
The S&P 500 gained 16.4% in 2025, with the top performing stocks including Western Digital, Robinhood, and Palantir, reflecting strong sector performances and notable individual gains despite recent market volatility.
Nvidia, Cava, and Arm Holdings are among 21 companies identified as "perfect" stocks by a stock screener, each earning a 99 Composite Rating. Nvidia continues to impress with record highs, while Cava rebounds strongly post-earnings. These companies, along with others like Chipotle and Super Micro Computer, are part of top-ranked industry groups, making them prime candidates for investors' watchlists.
Goldman Sachs has released its top 15 stock picks for 2024, which include Microsoft, Apple, and NVIDIA. Despite recent financial troubles, including losses in its loan portfolio and write-downs in real estate, Goldman Sachs remains confident in its investment banking business. The bank's top picks reflect its optimism for the future, with a focus on technology, healthcare, and energy sectors.
Retail investors are returning to the stock market as a new bull market begins and sentiment improves, with an average flow into US markets of $1.36 billion per day over the past week. Vanda Research tracked the top 10 stocks that have seen the most buying from retail investors over the past week, with names including mega-cap tech firms, companies exposed to the AI gold rush, and a beaten down telecom company. The top 5 stocks purchased by retail investors over the past week are Palantir Technologies, C3.ai, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Verizon.
President Joe Biden said that the next debt ceiling meeting with congressional leaders will be on Tuesday, but said there no updates regarding talks. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that the two sides remain "far apart" and that he would like a deal to be done this week. Dow Jones stock futures were little changed ahead of Tuesday's open after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47 points Monday. Home Depot and Walmart earnings are due out Tuesday morning.