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4 Best Stocks With More Upside as Dow Reaches 2023 High

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After wrapping up the biggest weekly gain since March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is hovering at 2023 high. Last week, the blue-chip index gained 2.3% while the other two major indices, the Nasdaq Composite Index and the S&P 500, saw modest declines of 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. With this rally, the blue-chip index is up 4.3% this year.

Better-than-expected results from Wall Street banks and other major corporations like UnitedHealth led to the strength. Additionally, momentum in homebuilding activities, easing inflation and rising consumer sentiment also supported the index’s rally.

Given this, many stocks in the blue-chip index have gained in double digits. We have highlighted five of them that have a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and have seen positive earnings estimate revisions for the current fiscal year over the past 30 or 60 days, suggesting continued outperformance. These include Salesforce Inc. (CRM - Free Report) , Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) , JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) and McDonald’s (MCD - Free Report) . You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

JPMorgan and Wells Fargo reported quarterly results that surpassed expectations on both revenue and earnings. UnitedHealth rose more than 7% after topping Wall Street estimates in its second-quarter results. The health insurer also raised its full-year profit outlook, citing cost-cutting measures. Meanwhile, homebuilders like DR Horton, PulteGroup and Lennar experienced significant gains after Bank of America expressed confidence in the sector, stating expectations of continued growth in homebuilding activity.

The U.S. economy is showing resilience in the face of the Fed’s aggressive monetary policy tightening. U.S. consumer prices in June registered their smallest annual increase in over two years, reviving hopes that the Fed was nearing the end of its interest rate increases. The Consumer Price Index rose 3% year over year and 0.2% over the last month. Easing inflation indicates that the economy is stabilizing and interest rates may decline. Consumer sentiment, as indicated by the University of Michigan preliminary index, jumped to an almost two-year high in July.

After a tech surge, the rally has spread across various cyclical sectors in recent weeks, thereby providing a huge boost to the Dow Jones index.

Stocks to Buy

Salesforce is the leading provider of on-demand Customer Relationship Management software, which enables organizations to better manage critical operations, such as sales force automation, customer service and support, marketing automation, document management, analytics, and custom application development. The stock has skyrocketed 72% so far this year and saw solid earnings estimate revision of 30 cents over the past 60 days for this year.

Salesforce has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of A.

Intel is the world’s largest semiconductor company and the primary supplier of microprocessors and chipsets. It is gradually reducing its dependence on the PC-centric business by moving into data-centric businesses — such as AI and autonomous driving. The stock has surged nearly 30% this year.

INTC saw a positive earnings estimate revision of a penny for this year over the past 30 days. It has a Zacks Rank #2.

JPMorgan is one of the biggest global banks with assets valued at $3.74 trillion and stockholders’ equity worth $303.1 billion as of Mar 31, 2023. With operations in more than 60 countries, the company is one of the largest financial service firms in the world. The stock has gained 14.4% year to date.

JPM has seen a positive earnings estimate revision of 31 cents over the past 30 days for this year. It has a Zacks Rank #2.

McDonald’s is a leading fast-food chain that currently operates more than 39,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. The company mainly operates and franchises quick-service restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. The company saw a positive earnings estimate revision of a penny over the past 30 days for this year.

MCD has gained 11.8% so far this year and has a Zacks Rank #2. It has a Growth Score of A.

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