It’s officially a new trading month, and HSBC recommends that investors widen their exposure to the fourth quarter by looking for stocks with reasonable valuations. September was another winning month for stocks, as the S&P 500 saw its fifth consecutive month in the green. On the last trading day of the month, the broad market index posted another record close, adding to the index’s gain of more than 20% in 2024. Along with the S&P, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also closed a good month. “[W]I argue that a large part of this bubble and rise is due to the dominance of the ‘big’ companies in the index, not only big technology but also supermarkets, big banks, and big pharma,” Nicole Inui, head of equity, America. , wrote in a recent letter to clients “These companies’ majors’ represent the lion’s share of the equity index’s return year to date.” of Covid-19 predicts that the central bank will be cut by a quarter at the next six FOMC meetings.[As] we are moving into a low (but not low) level with growth still looking strong (the 3Q consensus GDP forecast is tracking 2.3% for the year), we believe there are opportunities for investors to expand exposure to companies with relatively low valuations,” The strategist also said that does not include small caps, however, as he noted that those companies have historically underperformed when the Fed cuts rates. up more than 27% year-over-year, GM estimates it has a 9.5% share of the domestic EV market, up three percentage points from the first quarter of this year -GM has a strong buy or buy rating, and its average price of $54.35 represents a nearly 19% increase from Friday’s close, per LSEG. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is another name that made the cut. Shares of the US drugmaker are down about 1% this year. However, the stock is slightly higher in the last one month. That said, the street said that apart from Pfizer, 14 out of 25 analysts have a hold rating, according to LSEG. The remaining 11 have a buy or strong buy rating. Still, the consensus price target of $33.34 represents an upside of more than 16%, from Friday’s close. Goldman Sachs and Delta Air Lines both appear on the list. In 2024, Goldman’s shares are up more than 28%, while Delta’s are up 22.5%.