Three stock picks for 2025: from a Magnificent Seven star to a FTSE stalwart
Investors had a good 2024 and much of that was thanks to the shares of a handful of giant US tech companies.
The global stock market rose 19 percent, as measured by the MSCI World index, and the US stock market now makes up 74 percent of that.
That stock has risen thanks to exceptional growth in US equities, with the S&P 500 returning 22 percent by 2024.
These statistics show how diversification and support of the index delivered great results last year. But many investors also like to choose individual stocks, so where can they look for returns in an increasingly concentrated market?
Investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown has its Five stocks to watch for 2025*and in this video, This is Money’s Simon Lambert talks to senior equity analyst Matt Britzman to find out why the company picked some of the companies on that list.
It’s been another banner year for US megacaps and the Magnificent Seven, Nvidia, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Tesla, but investors are wondering when this run will end.
According to senior analyst Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices, Nvidia contributed 22 percent to the S&P 500’s profits last year thanks to its own share price increase of 171 percent.
However, Hargreaves Lansdown analysts still believe that the American chip manufacturer can continue to deliver good results for investors this year. Britzman explains why and also discusses two stock picks closer to home that offer UK growth and value opportunities.
> Get the full Five Shares to Watch in 2025 report from Hargreaves Lansdown*
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