Market data overshadowed medical data Tuesday as stocks made their way higher, and the Nasdaq hit fresh all-time highs, again on the back of the relentless technology sector.
The preliminary IHS Markit purchasing managers' index reading climbed from 37.0 in May to 46.8 in June – still an indication of contraction in services and manufacturing output, but at a far slower pace. And May new-home sales improved 16.6%, to a 676,000 annual rate, to easily exceed expectations.
That overshadowed an increasingly worrisome COVID-19 picture, with 29 states reporting increases in infections. That includes Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott said yesterday that "additional measures are going to be necessary" if the state doesn't buck its current trend.
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Still, the Nasdaq climbed 0.7% to a new peak of 10,131 thanks to continued help from big-tech stalwarts Apple (AAPL, +2.1%) and Microsoft (MSFT, +0.7%), which both set record highs. The pair also helped the Dow climb 0.5% to 26,156.
The S&P 500 finished up 0.4% to 3,131, and the Russell 2000 improved at the same rate, to 1,439.
Apple and Microsoft were hardly alone. Several of the Nasdaq's top stocks notched new all-time highs today as well, including Facebook (FB, +1.3%) and Peloton (PTON, +3.5%).
The composite has been led by a massive run in technology and tech-esque industries that has put it well ahead of its blue-chip peers. The Nasdaq, which didn't dip as deep into the March bottom, has nonetheless been the biggest gainer during the rebound, up 48% versus 40% for the S&P 500 and 41% for the Dow.
That said, many other markets around the world are mounting their own comeback bids of late, including potentially growthy (but certainly volatile) emerging markets.
The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) – a broad (albeit China-heavy) collection of emerging-markets stocks – is up 33% since late March. The VanEck Vectors Russia ETF (RSX) has jumped 42% in that time, while the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) has surged by more than 46%.
Read on as we look at 11 stocks across the globe – in countries such as China, Brazil and Mexico – that are gathering momentum and could continue to charge ahead.
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