The economy of the EU is comparable to the US. The EU is also one of the largest trade partners in the world. The top trade partners of the EU are the US, UK and China. As expected, China is the largest import source for the EU while the US is the top destination for exports.
Indian equity markets reached yet another all-time record high this Friday. The benchmark Sensex index reached a high of 84,694 and ended the day at 84,544 with an year-to-date return of 17%. In the past 5 years, the index has more than doubled. Sensex’s return so far this year puts it among the top four global indices as shown in the chart below. Only the NASDAQ and S&P 500 are ahead of the Sensex.European indices such as the DAX and CAC are lagging the amazing returns of the US and Indian markets.
At current levels, the P/E ratio on the Sensex is 23.99 according to Exchange data. Indian stocks are richly valued though the ratio is less than the figure reached in 2021-22. Should the US economy enter a recession, global equities including emerging markets like the Indian market would be adversely impacted.
For additional historical data and charts on Sensex annual returns go here.
The utility sector is usually considered as a stable sector that offers slow or no growth and strong dividends. For this reason it is one of the sectors preferred by income investors. The industry is regulated and its very rare for a company to fail. One such case was the crash of the Hawaiian Electric Industries stock a while ago. According to a recent article I came across at Capital Group the utility sector could be the next growth. The authors of the piece discuss their theory based on the following three reasons:
Aging electric grid needs an overhaul
Utilities are powering the AI boom
Made in America: Reshoring ignites energy demand
A brief excerpt from the article:
Here’s why utilities, long known as reliable dividend payers, shouldn’t be ignored by growth investors.
For investors interested in individual stocks, the following list offers a good starting point for further research:
1.Company: Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) Current Dividend Yield: 3.21%
2.Company: NRG Energy (NRG) Current Dividend Yield: 1.87%
3.Company: Edison International (EIX) Current Dividend Yield: 3.65%
4.Company: Portland General Elect. Co. (POR) Current Dividend Yield: 4.19%
5.Company: Sempra (SRE) Current Dividend Yield: 2.98%
6.Company: Southern Co. (SO) Current Dividend Yield: 3.21%
7.Company: Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) Current Dividend Yield: 3.59%
8.Company: Entergy Corp. (ETR) Current Dividend Yield: 3.50%
9.Company: NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) Current Dividend Yield: 2.49%
10.Company: American Electric Power Co., Inc. (AEP) Current Dividend Yield: 3.45%
Note: Dividend yields noted above are as of Sept 20, 2024. Data is known to be accurate from sources used. Please use your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.
There are about 50,000 companies trading on the organized exchanges of the world according to an article by Ashley Owen of OwenAnalytics. China has the highest number of companies at over 5,000 followed by Canada and the US. On a per capita basis, Canada tops the ranking at 113 per million followed by Australia at 75 companies per million population. The main reason for the high number listings in the relatively small economies of these countries is that both are resource-based economies and thousands of mining companies trade on the exchanges.
