U.S. stocks' big five make their industries appear heavy

U.S. stock investors need to be mindful of a “heavy concentration” in industry groups encompassing the S&P 500 Index’s five most valuable companies, David Kastner, a strategist at Charles Schwab Corp., wrote Thursday in a blog post. Two of them, Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., are part of the technology group. Google’s owner, Alphabet Inc., and Facebook Inc. are both in communications services. Amazon.com Inc. is a consumer-discretionary company. The sectors together exceeded 50% of the S&P 500’s weight from Aug. 18 through Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They were last above that threshold in 2000, when their total weight peaked at 54%.

Domino's rivals Alphabet, Salesforce in IPO class of 2004

Domino’s Pizza Inc. might as well be a technology company, judging by its stock performance. Shares of the restaurant owner returned 5,370% from their debut in July 2004 through Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The total return, reflecting price changes and dividends, surged Thursday when the stock rose by a record 26% in response to fourth-quarter results. Domino’s delivered more for investors than Alphabet Inc., Google’s owner, which went public about five weeks later -- and approached the return on Salesforce.com Inc., a business-software maker that debuted three weeks earlier.

Years of Nasdaq beating S&P 500 may be at an end

Nasdaq stocks are in danger of losing their long-held status as U.S. market leaders, according to Michael Shaoul, chief executive officer at Marketfield Asset Management LLC. He raised the possibility in a report Thursday that tracked the ratio between the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indexes. The ratio has fallen as much as 5 percent since July 25, when it peaked after rising 163 percent from a low in September 2002. Losses may mount, Shaoul wrote, because of concern about “future growth or profitability” for Apple Inc. and the four FANG stocks: Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Netflix Inc. and Alphabet Inc., Google’s owner.