Congregation P: The new stock leaders
Move over, Magnificent 7. There’s a new acronym in town. CONGREGATION P.
Over on TheStreet Pro’s Daily Diary, Doug Kass tells us that there’s a new group of stocks that are “always rising and nearly incapable of ever declining.”
C – Coinbase
O – Oracle
N – Nvidia
G – GE Verona
R – Robinhood
E – Elbit Systems
G – GE Aerospace
A – AVGO (Broadcom)
T – The Metals Company
I – IonQ
O – OKLO
N – Netflix
P – Palantir
Congregation P includes some of the strongest stocks year-to-date, and Kass says the fate of the market no longer lies with the Mag 7 but rather with this group.
Markets
So, while we watch for new signals from Congregation P (Mag 7 is much easier on the typing fingers) let’s consider where we’re at, heading into Monday trading.
Stephen Guilfoyle offers a nice recap of the economic indicators in his daily Market Recon column this morning.
Essentially, while the Trump administration’s Aug. 1 tariff-negotiation deadline looms large, U.S. macroeconomic data have been strong. Housing starts in June were above expectations, jobless claims were below expectations, manufacturing is expanding, and the consumer mood is improving.
So, that’s all good!
At the same time, the Atlanta Federal Reserve has pared its GDPNow model to show growth of 2.4% vs. 2.6% quarter-over-quarter and seasonally adjusted. Other Fed branches, which were less optimistic, are upping their targets toward the Atlanta number.
Valuation indicates caution. Guilfoyle, using FactSet data, says the S&P 500 has a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 22.2, which is more than 10% above the 19.9 five-year average and 18.4 10-year average.
The economy may be strong, but these are sharply high valuations.
Adding to that, TheStreet Pro’s Helene Meisler tells us that “There’s a Whole Lot of Churning Going On” among stocks. That’s can be a warning sign.
As for today’s markets, stocks are looking slightly higher, although off their best levels of the morning.
S&P 500 futures are trading up 0.11%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s futures are up just 0.03%.