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S&P 500's Bull Run to Continue: ETFs to Bet On

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The S&P 500 Index has been on a tear this year, surpassing the 5,200 milestone last week. The Fed’s signal to cut interest rates drove the latest rally. The move will mark the end of the most aggressive Fed hiking cycle and fuel corporate profits.

As such, Wall Street analysts have become more bullish on the S&P 500. In order to tap this opportune moment, investors should bet on ETFs that track the S&P 500 Index. These include SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY - Free Report) , iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) , Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO - Free Report) , SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG - Free Report) and Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF (XLG - Free Report) .

In the latest meeting, the Fed maintained its interest rates steady in the range of 5.25%-5.50% and signaled three rate cuts this year, citing expanding economic activity and easing but elevated inflation. Following the meeting, futures markets priced in a nearly 75% probability that the first cut would come at the Jun 11-12 meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch gauge (read: S&P 500 Soars to New Highs: 5 Best Stocks YTD).

Lower interest rates generally lead to reduced borrowing costs, helping businesses to expand their operations more easily and resulting in increased profitability. This, in turn, will stimulate economic growth and provide a boost to the stock market.

Bullish View

The Fed’s dovish view, coupled with the AI craze, has compelled Wall Street analysts to lift their S&P 500 Index target price. Societe Generale has claimed the crown of the new biggest bull on Wall Street by raising the target price to 5,500 from 4,750. Societe Generale cited, “US exceptionalism is going from strength to strength.” That exceptionalism — the unique driver of the U.S. stock market that has kept it ahead of its peers for the last four decades — is expected to continue to drive profits of more and more large-cap stocks.

Oppenheimer boosted the S&P 500 target price from 5200 to 5500 on consistent signs of “remarkable resilience” of the U.S. economy. Earlier this month, Bank of America and Barclays joined the bullish club in adopting 5,400 and 5,300 as their year-end targets for the S&P 500, respectively, pointing to resiliency in the economy and earnings strength from mega-cap technology stocks.

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY - Free Report)

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust tracks the S&P 500 Index and holds 503 stocks in its basket, with each accounting for no more than 7.2% of the assets. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust is heavy on the information technology sector, while financials, healthcare and consumer discretionary round off the next three spots with a double-digit allocation each.

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust charges investors 9 bps in annual fees and trades in an average daily volume of 67 million shares. It has AUM of $533.4 billion and a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a Medium risk outlook (read: Ride the S&P 500 Wave With These ETFs).

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report)

With an AUM of $440 million, iShares Core S&P 500 ETF is much smaller than SPY and less liquid, trading in an average daily volume of 5 million shares. It charges just 3 bps in annual fees, 6 bps less than the State Street product. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO - Free Report)

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF also directly tracks the S&P 500 Index and holds 503 stocks in its basket. It has amassed $432.2 billion in its asset base and charges investors 3 bps in annual fees. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF trades in an average daily volume of 5 million shares and has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 with a Medium risk outlook (read: Global ETFs Soar to Record $12.3 Trillion).

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG - Free Report)

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF follows the S&P 500 Index and holds 503 stocks in its basket, with a 0.02% expense ratio. It has amassed $33 billion in its asset base and trades in a solid volume of 8 million shares a day, on average. SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF has a Zacks ETF Rank #1.

Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF (XLG - Free Report)

Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF follows the S&P 500 Top 50 ETF Index, which measures the cap-weighted performance of 50 of the largest companies on the S&P 500 Index, reflecting the performance of the U.S. mega-cap stocks. Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF has been able to manage assets worth $4 billion but trades in a volume of about 1.2 million shares a day on average. XLG charges 20 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a Medium risk outlook.

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