It's not just the S&P 500 itself hitting an all-time high. A surprising group of big stocks are doing the same.
Thirteen S&P 500 stocks, including Ralph Lauren, Otis Worldwide and IBM, all notched new all-time highs on Thursday, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSurge.
Surprisingly, these stocks setting record highs aren't the big-cap tech investors are used to dominating all year. IBM is the only S&P 500 at a new high in the tech sector. And it's not part of the trendy Magnificent Seven.
"Investors continue to be encouraged by the prospects of additional, aggressive interest rate cuts," said Sam Stovall, strategist at CFRA.
S&P 500's Rise To New Highs
The S&P 500 jumped 23.11 points Thursday to 5,745.37. That's a new high for the widely watched index.
But it's not just about the Big Tech stocks. The No. 1 S&P 500 sector this year is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund, which rose 25.7%. Tech-adjacent Communications Services Select Sector SPDR is up 23.1% this year.
But it's the industrials that are dominating the new highs.
Racing To New Highs
Of the 13 S&P 500 stocks at all-time highs, the industrials sector has more than any other: six. The sector is benefiting from lower interest rates.
Case in point is elevator maker Otis Worldwide. Shares are up more than 15% this year to 103.38. That's enough to put the stock nearly 3% higher than its previous all-time high.
That's not to say the stock is a giant winner. Its RS Rating is just 60. And analysts only think profit will rise 9% next year. The Composite Rating is just 63.
Things are slightly more positive at IBM, also at an all-time high. The computing giant sports a Composite Rating of 90. It also generates a dividend yield of 3%, which is double that of the S&P 500. And yet, it's not growing very fast either. Analysts only think profit will rise 5% this year.
And that's the rub. Not that more S&P 500 stocks are helping lift the market higher, some simply aren't the next Nvidia. But with that said, Nvidia is nearly 12% below its all-time high.
S&P 500 Stocks At All-Time Highs
| Company | Ticker | YTD % | Distance above previous all-time high | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Lauren | RL | 37.0% | 2.92% | Consumer Discretionary |
| Otis Worldwide | OTIS | 15.5% | 2.56% | Industrials |
| Hilton Worldwide | HLT | 27.9% | 1.71% | Consumer Discretionary |
| Royal Caribbean Cruises | RCL | 41.2% | 1.67% | Consumer Discretionary |
| Parker Hannifin | PH | 37.9% | 0.99% | Industrials |
| International Business Machines | IBM | 36.6% | 0.69% | Information Technology |
| Caterpillar | CAT | 32.4% | 0.51% | Industrials |
| McDonald's | MCD | 2.4% | 0.41% | Consumer Discretionary |
| Ameriprise Financial | AMP | 23.4% | 0.33% | Financials |
| Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies | WAB | 43.7% | 0.11% | Industrials |
| Jacobs Solutions | J | 19.1% | 0.07% | Industrials |
| Sherwin-Williams | SHW | 23.1% | 0.06% | Materials |
| Pentair | PNR | 34.1% | 0.03% | Industrials |
