Multinationals and exporters are outshining companies more geared to America’s domestic economy, as the weak dollar becomes a dividing line for the US stock market.
A Goldman Sachs index of the 50 blue-chip US companies with the highest share of foreign sales exposure has jumped 21 per cent this year and hit a fresh high on Thursday, with stocks such as Meta Platforms, Philip Morris and Applied Materials all outperforming the S&P 500 index.
In contrast, the bank’s gauge of Wall Street shares with the greatest proportion of domestic sales — which includes T-Mobile US and Target — has gained just 5 per cent, as such companies failed to reap the benefit of a weaker dollar while also being hit by the steeper cost of imports. The gap between the two indices this year is the widest since 2009.