2017 was an exciting year for the tech sector, especially the FAANG stocks. Lindsey Bell, Investment Strategist for CFRA, and Ryan Vlastelica, Reporter at MarketWatch, join The Long and The Short to discuss the year's ups and downs.
Bell believes Facebook and Netflix had the best year out of all the FAANG stocks. She predicts that because our lives are becoming more and more connected, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google will continue to outperform in the coming year. However, Vlastelica says investors should be wary of FAANG stocks going into 2018. Since they are such huge tech companies they are more vulnerable to a market crash.
Plus, how Tesla, Square, and Nvidia made a comeback after the fall tech sell-off. Vlastelica says Square is on an upswing because it's now offering options to pay in Bitcoin, which is a hot, trending cryptocurrency. As far as Tesla, CFRA has a "sell" rating on it, citing that it's overvalued amid increasing competition.
Microsoft reported a 20% spike in quarterly profits Tuesday, helping to fuel its battle to get ahead of rivals like Google, Amazon and Facebook parent Meta in selling the latest artificial intelligence technology.
Visa Inc. said its adjusted third-quarter profits rose by nearly double digits, as the global payments company continues to benefit from the broad shift by consumers to using credit and debit cards instead of cash.
Even after inflation has steadily eased this year, the Federal Reserve's policymakers still think prices are rising too fast and are almost certain to lift their key interest rate by a quarter-point on Wednesday.
