It’s Thursday, and you know what that means…
I’m doing my weekly review of stocks that have officially crossed over into “Bullish” territory on my Green Zone Power Ratings system, meaning their rating is now 60 or higher.
We have an interesting collection this week…
It includes several banks and financial companies defying the gloom around private credit, as well as several new ways to play the AI infrastructure boom.
Chinese stocks are also well represented this week, including one of China’s biggest automakers.
So, let’s get to it!
I’ll start with newly “Bullish” stocks in the S&P 500 Index, then move on to smaller and international names outside it.
S&P 500 New Bulls
I ran my usual screen for S&P 500 companies that popped up as “Bullish” this week, and this is what I came up with:
A few points immediately jump off the page…
To start, financial stocks are trending bullish. Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Citizens Financial Group (CFG) all join the ranks of the newly “Bullish,” as does massive mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) administrator State Street (STT).
State Street manages the popular SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), among many, many others. It manages over $5 trillion in assets.
Overall, 2026 hasn’t been a good year for financials. It’s the second-worst performing of the major S&P 500 sectors, down 4.7% year to date. (Only health care is down more, at 5.4%.)
Fears of losses in the private credit space (as well as uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut strategy) have kept a lid on the stock prices of financial stocks this year.
The strong ratings in my Green Zone Power Ratings systems suggest this could create a good buying opportunity for investors willing to buy and hold.
I’d also note that natural gas pipeline operator ONEOK (OKE) and oilfield servicer SLB Ltd. (SLB) made the cut this week.
Energy stocks have consistently rated well in my Green Zone Power Ratings system over the past six months, correctly anticipating the strong price performance of the sector this year.
However, the energy sector has struggled over the past few weeks as the “war premium” it enjoyed has faded. But it’s still the top-performing major sector this year by a country mile, up over 26%.
New Bulls Outside of the S&P 500
Let’s cast the net a little wider and look at the newly “Bullish” stocks outside of the S&P 500.
I ran a screen for the top 20 stocks with the largest score increases over the past month, and this is what popped up:
In case you had any doubts, the AI infrastructure trade is back.
Tech hardware stocks have been rallying hard over the past three weeks. So, it’s not surprising to see several new tech hardware stocks showing up as newly “Bullish.”
At the very top is Austria-based semiconductor company ams-OSRAM (AMSSY), which designs advanced sensors and laser components used in smartphones, vehicles and industrial systems.
Its core products enable devices to detect and interpret light, distance and motion, powering applications like autonomous driving systems.
ams-OSRAM is critical in bringing AI off your screen and into the physical world. Its sensors generate the high-quality, real-time data that machine learning systems rely on, making them foundational to AI-powered applications such as LiDAR for self-driving cars and intelligent robotics.
Next on the list is Penguin Solutions (PENG). Penguin helps turn complex hardware into working systems that can train and run AI models efficiently.
It designs and sets up data center infrastructure such as servers, graphics processing units (GPUs) and networks that companies use to run machine learning and process large amounts of data.
The company also provides software and services to keep these systems running smoothly.
And for one more AI infrastructure play, let’s look at Netlist Inc (NLST).
Netlist designs and supplies high-performance memory products used in data centers, servers and advanced computing systems.
Its technology enables computers to store and access data quickly and efficiently, which is critical for applications like cloud computing and AI.
In addition to selling hardware, Netlist develops valuable memory-related patents and earns revenue by licensing this technology to larger chip companies.
To wrap up, let’s veer away from AI and get back into the gritty “old economy.”
Chinese stocks have made frequent appearances on my “New Bulls” screens this year, and today I want to highlight one in particular: Great Wall Motor Co. (GWLLY).
Great Wall is a Chinese automaker that specializes in SUVs, pickup trucks and electric vehicles. It’s not one of the biggest automakers in China – that distinction belongs to rival BYD (BYDDY) – but it dominates the market for pickup trucks and off-road SUVs.
In recent years, the company has been expanding into international markets in Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America in an effort to become a global brand.
While still largely unknown in the U.S., Chinese automakers are quickly gaining market share in much of the developing world. And in some markets, they are nipping at Japan’s heels.
Chinese cars tend to compete mostly on price, but their quality has also come a long way. At the high end, BYD competes with the likes of Tesla (TSLA)… at a fraction of the cost.
This is a trend you might want to keep an eye on…
To good profits,
Adam O’Dell
Editor, What My System Says Today
