U.S. stocks are trading near record highs - but despite the strong performance, they are being bested by global emerging stocks. A leading industrialized global stock market index, the ETF EAFE (EFA), is up 6% year to date, while the leading emerging market ETF (EEM) has gained 17%. The S&P 500 is no slacker, up 6% year to date, but still below the global emerging stocks. With continued worries over the state of the U.S. economy and some talk of stagflation, global stocks, and especially those that pay dividends, are an option for investors. The lagging U.S. markets represent a change from the recent record. Over the past five years, the S&P 500 has advanced 70% compared to a 28% gain in EAFE and a 14% gain in EEM. But the underperformance has given global stocks a valuation advantage, particularly in the area of dividends. Consider that the EAFE dividend yield of 3.35% is roughly 225 basis points higher than the comparable S&P 500 dividend yield. We think global dividend stocks continue to offer opportunity. In our view, investing in international income stocks is one way to increase portfolio diversification while reducing sensitivity to volatile U.S interest rates. That said, investing in overseas stocks carries its own set of risks, including the impact of currency exchange and geopolitical turmoil. But there are also a number of positives in this asset class for U.S. investors, including a wide selection of companies that pay dividends, robust industry diversification, and, as we have mentioned, higher yields and lower valuations. We used the sort function in the Argus screening tool using these criteria: stocks must carry and Argus BUY rating, trading just below their 52-week high, and with a dividend yield. The following is the resultant list and offers diversity in sectors and countries.

Enterprise Products is a North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products, and petrochemicals. The partnership's assets include over 50,000 miles of natural gas, NGL, refined product, and petrochemical pipelines; 260 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, refined products, and crude oil; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity. The company completed its IPO in July 1998. The company is not a component of the S&P 500. Enterprise currently employs about 7,700 people.

The flood of earnings reports continues this week, with about 1,500 public companies reporting results for their last quarter. The April jobs report also will come out. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both rose 1%. Year to date, all three indices are in positive territory, with the DJIA up 3%, the S&P 500 higher by 6%, and the Nasdaq up by 8%. On the earnings calendar, highlights for the week include Palantir on Monday; AMD, Shopify, Arista Networks, Pfizer, and Anheuser-Busch on Tuesday; Walt Disney, Marriott, Uber, CVS Health, DoorDash, and Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday; McDonald's, Airbnb, Shell, and Cloudflare on Thursday; and Toyota on Friday. On the economic calendar, new data is pending on the labor market. Job Openings and New Home Sales will be reported on Tuesday; private payrolls report data from ADP on Wednesday; and the April Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday. Turning to economic data, gas prices remain elevated and rose eight cents last week, hitting an average of $4.12 per gallon for regular gas. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecasts calls for GDP growth of 3.5% in the first quarter, up from the 1.2% forecast given just last week. The Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast calls for CPI of 3.6% in April and 3.9% in May. The CPI print was 3.3% in March. Mortgage rates moved higher last week, up seven basis points, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now at 6.30%, according to FreddieMac. The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is on June 17, with odds at 7% for a rate cut. President Trump's nominee to be the next Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, has been voted through on the Senate side. The next step is to be confirmed by the House of Representatives. Jerome Powell's term as chairman expires on May 15, but he will remain on the FOMC as a governor. Taking a deeper dive into performance so far in 2026, a leading industrialized global stock market index, the ETF EFA, is up 6% year to date, and the leading emerging market ETF (EEM) is up 17% year to date. U.S. growth stocks are up 1% year to date based on the IWF ETF, while value stocks (IWD) are up 9%. Crude oil prices continue to be volatile. On Friday, oil was at $103 per barrel, up 77% year to date. In other asset classes, AGG bonds are down 1%, gold is up 6%, and Bitcoin is down 11%. The U.S. dollar is flat, tracking DXY. The VIX Volatility Index was at about 17 on Friday, below its historical average of 20. Turning to sector performance, the list from first to worst so far in 2026, as of April 24, is Energy (+31%), Materials (+13%), Industrials (+12%), Consumer Staples (+11%), Real Estate (+11%), Utilities (+10%), Communication Services (+10%), Information Technology (+8%), Consumer Discretionary (+3%), Financials (-4%), and Healthcare (-6%). By comparison, the S&P 500 is up 6% year to date.

The flood or earnings reports continues this week, with about 1,500 public companies reporting results for their last quarter. The April jobs report also will come out. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both rose 1%. Year to date, all three indices are in positive territory, with the DJIA up 3%, the S&P 500 higher by 6%, and the Nasdaq up by 8%. On the earnings calendar, highlights for the week include Palantir on Monday; AMD, Shopify, Arista Networks, Pfizer, and Anheuser-Busch on Tuesday; Walt Disney, Marriott, Uber, CVS Health, DoorDash, and Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday; McDonald's, Airbnb, Shell, and Cloudflare on Thursday; and Toyota on Friday. On the economic calendar, new data is pending on the labor market. Job Openings and New Home Sales will be reported on Tuesday; private payrolls report data from ADP on Wednesday; and the April Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday. Turning to economic data, gas prices remain elevated and rose eight cents last week, hitting an average of $4.12 per gallon for regular gas. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecasts calls for GDP growth of 3.5% in the first quarter, up from the 1.2% forecast given just last week. The Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast calls for CPI of 3.6% in April and 3.9% in May. The CPI print was 3.3% in March. Mortgage rates moved higher last week, up seven basis points, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now at 6.30%, according to FreddieMac. The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is on June 17, with odds at 7% for a rate cut. President Trump's nominee to be the next Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, has been voted through on the Senate side. The next step is to be confirmed by the House of Representatives. Jerome Powell's term as chairman expires on May 15, but he will remain on the FOMC as a governor. Taking a deeper dive into performance so far in 2026, a leading industrialized global stock market index, the ETF EFA, is up 6% year to date, and the leading emerging market ETF (EEM) is up 17% year to date. U.S. growth stocks are up 1% year to date based on the IWF ETF, while value stocks (IWD) are up 9%. Crude oil prices continue to be volatile. On Friday, oil was at $103 per barrel, up 77% year to date. In other asset classes, AGG bonds are down 1%, gold is up 6%, and Bitcoin is down 11%. The U.S. dollar is flat, tracking DXY. The VIX Volatility Index was at about 17 on Friday, below its historical average of 20. Turning to sector performance, the list from first to worst so far in 2026, as of April 24, is Energy (+31%), Materials (+13%), Industrials (+12%), Consumer Staples (+11%), Real Estate (+11%), Utilities (+10%), Communication Services (+10%), Information Technology (+8%), Consumer Discretionary (+3%), Financials (-4%), and Healthcare (-6%). By comparison, the S&P 500 is up 6% year to date.