Economics
It's Not a Sign of Economic Health When Soapmakers Lead S&P 500
- Consumer staple stocks post longest outperformance since 2007
- China worries, commodities rout bring back defensive trade
Procter & Gamble Co. Tide brand laundry detergent.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The best-performing U.S. stocks right now are ones that usually do well when the economy isn’t, makers of everything from household cleaning products to food. It’s yet another black cloud for investors fretting over a growth slowdown.
Consumer staples stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index -- which include Procter & Gamble Co. and Coca-Cola Co. -- have outpaced the benchmark gauge for seven straight weeks, the longest stretch since November 2007, when the U.S. economy was on the brink of its last recession. Valuations have also jumped, with the group’s price-earnings ratio 14 percent above the five-year average, Bloomberg data show.