The Real Money Post-Industrial Average -- our exclusive measure of cutting-edge companies like Apple ( AAPL) and Facebook ( FB) -- outperformed the Nasdaq during November's first half, slipping some 0.4% through Nov. 15 vs. a 0.6% drop for the Nasdaq Composite. However, the RMPIA underperformed the S&P 500's 0.7% gain and the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 0.8% increase.
Apple weighed on both the RMPIA and the Nasdaq as investors questioned near-term demand for the company's flagship iPhones following tepid guidance for the current quarter from several Apple suppliers. That also weighed on the other RMPIA components like Qualcomm ( QCOM) , which fell nearly 12% during November's first half. Moves lower in Facebook and Kraft Heinz ( KHC) also dragged on the RMPIA.
However, double-digit percentage gains by RMPIA names Starbucks ( SBUX) and CVS Health ( CVS) partly offset that, as did smaller increases in 16 other RMPIA components. For instance, the index saw notable moves higher for component stocks Broadcom ( AVGO) , Biogen ( BIIB) , Medtronic ( MDT) and Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA) .
The RMPIA's mixed performance mirrors that of the broader markets for November's first half. For example, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and small-cap-heavy Russell 2000 rebounded modestly from their October declines, but the Nasdaq Composite continued to slide.
Several headwinds also remain for November's second half, including the Italian debt crisis, Britain's unsettled Brexit process and a cooling global economy. Here at home, inflationary readings in both the October Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index will more than likely keep the Federal Reserve's rate-hike path intact. America also faces looming concerns about high consumer- and corporate-debt levels.
Looking ahead, next week has the Thanksgiving holiday, which marks the holiday-shopping season's start. That means we can expect the litany of headlines over initial holiday-shopping sales as we ease into Cyber Monday on Nov. 26.
The recent October U.S. retail-sales report served to remind everyone of the accelerating shift to digital commerce, and the consensus view among Adobe Systems ( ADBE) , eMarketer, Deloitte and PwC is that this will only continue into the holiday-shopping season. I see that benefiting RMPIA component Amazon ( AMZN) as consumers open their wallets in the coming weeks.
