In an article from Wells Fargo, Scott Wren, the firm’s senior global market strategist, advises investors to be cautious when adding high yield bonds to their portfolios. He suggests that it’s not the best time to overweight or even weight these bonds, especially with the expected high rates from the Federal Reserve and rising recession risks. However, Wren highlights that discerning investors can still find pockets of opportunity in the top rung of the high-yield space, particularly with double-B-rated companies. These issuers historically have lower default rates compared to other high-yield bonds.
Meanwhile, it seems it hasn’t been a good week, month, or quarter for the three major indexes. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have all experienced declines. However, despite these losses, the indexes are still up for the year, underscoring the strength of the rally seen in the first half of the year.
On a different note, the energy sector has emerged as the top performer in the third quarter, with a 13.5% increase, largely driven by the rising oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude futures have seen their best performance since the first quarter of 2022, with a 32% increase in the quarter. Leading companies in the energy sector include Marathon Petroleum, Halliburton, and Phillips 66. However, not all energy names have experienced gains, as Kinder Morgan and EQT saw declines alongside a fall in natural gas prices.
In after-hours trading, some stocks made significant moves. Micron Technology dropped 4% after providing weaker-than-expected earnings guidance for the current quarter. Peloton Interactive, on the other hand, surged 16% following an announcement of a five-year partnership with Lululemon to develop content. Luxury wine producer Duckhorn Portfolio also experienced a 2.8% decline after giving worse-than-anticipated full-year guidance.
Looking at stock futures, they were slightly higher shortly after 6 p.m. ET, with Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 futures all up about 0.2%.