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A major Wall Street strategist is jumping aboard the story that materials stocks could be at the start of a big rally. Bank of America equity and quantitative strategist Savita Subramanian upgraded the materials group to overweight from market weight, saying in a note to clients that this sector has the highest correlation to Chinese equities and stands to benefit most from a wave of economic stimulus measures in China. That theory played out during last week’s rally for Chinese stocks. The Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB) rose 3% last week, though it was down a bit on Monday and Tuesday. The fund’s top holdings include Linde , Sherwin-Williams and Freeport-McMoRan . XLB 1M mountain This materials fund is up since the Chinese stock rally began. The group — consisting of everything from miners to chemical and cardboard makers — could also benefit from the Federal Reserve’s easier monetary policy in the form of lower interest rates, according to Bank of America. “Materials saw the biggest earnings swoon of all sectors since hiking began, suggesting the biggest potential upside in earnings on an accelerating profits cycle amid Fed cuts,” Subramanian said. Bank of America isn’t the only Wall Street shop that’s bullish on materials given the change in China. Roth MKM’s JC O’Hara also highlighted the group earlier in the week.
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