A Road Trip Through the Markets: 10 Best Stocks in Strongest Sectors

I hope you enjoyed Wednesday’s road trip as much as I did! We traveled through the markets to find out which indexes and sectors are working right now. On our journey, we found five market sectors that seem exceptionally attractive.

Every road trip ends eventually — usually right where it started, back home. Let’s complete our journey by finding the best charts in the hottest sectors. 

Consumer Staples Sector

Walmart

Remember those “People of Walmart” videos and websites? These days, with inflation still nipping at consumers’ heels, there's no need for Walmart shoppers to feel shame.

Walmart WMT has racked up an incredible 52% year-to-date gain. The world’s largest retailer has finally mastered its online element. Walmart closed at an all-time high on Wednesday. 

Colgate-Palmolive

Americans have had to cut back and "trade down," thanks to the worst bout of inflation in over 40 years. But from the look of Colgate-Palmolive’s CL chart, everyone is still brushing their teeth and doing the dishes.

I didn’t have this stock gaining 43% in 12 months on my bingo card, but there it is. Colgate has strong support on its 50-day moving average (blue), the site of numerous bounces (arrows). 

Financial Sector

Progressive Corp.

Is Flo, a character in Progressive insurance commercials since 2008, paid in stock options? If so, the pitch woman is smiling. 

Shares of Progressive PGR are up by 59% this year, and have gained a whopping 233% over the past five years. Progressive has been driving higher in a bullish channel (diagonal lines) for over a year.

KKR & Co.

Global investment firm KKR & Co. KKR is also having an amazing year, gaining nearly 62% since the start of 2024. The New York-based asset management firm has been trending higher within a bullish channel since late last year.

Building Materials Sector

Linde plc

Founded in 1879, Dublin, Ireland-based Linde LIN is the world’s largest industrial gas company, both by revenue and market share.

Linde closed at an all-time high earlier this week, but according to its chart, it could go much higher. That’s because Linde has formed a bullish ascending triangle pattern (dotted lines).

It’s rare to see a stock simultaneously making all-time highs and preparing to break out of a consolidation, but that’s exactly what Linde is doing right now.

Sherwin-Williams

Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams SHW is the largest seller of paint in the U.S. by dollar volume. 

Sherwin-Williams has been trading in a bull channel (diagonal lines) for nearly a year. While the company did come up short on revenues during its most recent quarter, Sherwin-Williams took off after the company raised its full-year outlook.

Utilities Sector

Constellation Energy Corp.

Thanks to the increased demand for electricity from data centers due to AI technology, Constellation Energy CEG has gained an incredible 26% since Friday’s close.

The company recently announced a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft MSFT. Constellation owns the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

Is Constellation overbought at current levels? Yes, but the scope and significance of this deal override my short-term concerns.

Public Service Enterprise Group

Better known in the Northeast as PSE&G PEG, this Newark, New Jersey-based utility company has been around in various forms since 1903. 

Public Service has tremendous support on its 50-day moving average (blue), The stock has gained 43% year-to-date, and boasts a 2.72% dividend.

Industrial Sector

Caterpillar

Irving, Texas-based Caterpillar CAT has been in business since 1925. The heavy equipment manufacturer broke out of a consolidation pattern to close at an all-time high on Tuesday. 

RTX Corp.

Another strong name in this sector is Arlington, Virginia-based RTX Corp. RTX, Formerly known as Raytheon, the stock has gained 41% this year and offers a dividend yield of 2.09%.

 At the time of publication, Ponsi was long WMT, LIN, and PGR.