Investing.com -- The breadth of a potential rally in the S&P 500 is set to broaden in the second half of 2024 after gains were powered by a just a handful of artificial intelligence-linked companies in the opening six months of the year, according to analysts at Wells Fargo.
The S&P 500 index rose by 14.5% year-to-date in the first half, the third-best performance over the six-month timeframe in the last 25 years.
Yet only a small number of names made up the surge, with a four-stock subsector of the so-called "Magnificent 7" firms -- Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) -- responsible for a little over 52% of the S&P's returns, according to FactSet data cited by Wells Fargo. Meanwhile, the remaining 499 of the 503-company index accounted for less than 48% of the gains.
In a note to clients, the Wells Fargo analysts said consensus earnings estimates show that growth will become "noticeably" more widespread beginning in the fourth quarter of this year and "gaining strength" through the middle of next year.
"This broadening earnings growth agrees with out outlook and should support an exapnding number of stocks over the next 18 months," the Wells Fargo analysts said. "We believe overall SPX earnings growth is likely to remian relatively strong in the immediate coming quarters, and we see the U.S. and global economies picking up and performing better in the second half of 2025."
Even still, they warned that equities face a "bumpy road" in the near term due to a slower economy and higher interest rates continue to "take a toll."
"For now, we suggest trimming gains in outperforming sectors and look for opportunities in the Energy, Industrials, Materials, and Health Care sectors," the analysts said.