Smart Investor: Is It Time to Buy Healthcare Stocks, Stocks With Big Valuation Boosts, Nvidia Takeaways

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It was a quiet week for the markets. Even another big quarter from semiconductor heavyweight Nvidia NVDA didn’t add much juice. That left the Morningstar US Market Index within shouting distance of its most recent record high, up 2.7% for the week and a solid 26% for 2024.

Post-election Trump trades cooled a bit, but the moves since Nov. 5 remain largely intact. In fact, thanks to a post-election rally, financial stocks are 2024’s best-performing sector. Bringing up the rear are healthcare stocks, some of which suffered double-digit losses in the wake of the election. Why did healthcare take a hit? Is the sector a now a buy? Sarah Hansen digs in with the help of our stock analysts.

We did get those earnings results from Nvidia, and once again, the darling of the AI trade had a huge quarter. As Morningstar strategist Brian Colello notes, it may not have been as big a quarter as traders were expecting, but from the perspective of a long-term investor, the company continues to fire on nearly all cylinders.

Nvidia also gives us a good look into the broader trends underlying the AI boom. We’ve got six charts illustrating what investors can learn from Nvidia about the trade.

It was an especially quiet week on the macroeconomic front, but we look at an interesting dynamic at play: The Federal Reserve has been cutting the federal funds rate, but the interest rates we pay as consumers have barely budged. In fact, mortgage rates have been on the rise lately. What gives? We explain.

Elsewhere, Susan Dziubinski has 10 stocks that the best fund managers have been selling, along with 10 that the top fund managers have been buying.

Lastly, we look back at the third-quarter earnings season and screen for the stocks whose fair value estimates increased the most. The list includes Sea and Spotify. We’ve also got a list of five stocks with the largest fair value cuts, which includes another music-related name. Check it out here.

Check out our Markets page for our latest coverage and live stock market updates, along with our weekly calendar of key upcoming data and events.