5 Top Stocks to Buy in July

Now that we're officially halfway through 2024, it's time to reflect on where the stock market has been. Although no one knows what the market will do in the short term, we can try to filter out the noise and be aware of what's driving broader themes. A good place to start is by looking at sector performance.

There are 11 sectors in the S 500. And only two of them -- tech and communications -- are outperforming the index. Right off the bat, it tells you that growth-heavy sectors are doing well, and value and income stocks are lagging. Dig deeper, and you'll find that mega-cap growth, more so than smaller growth stocks, are driving the bulk of the gains in the major indexes.

Investors looking for buying opportunities outside of mega caps have come to the right place. Here's why these Motley Fool contributors are particularly excited about Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA), Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH), Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC), NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), and Home Depot (NYSE: HD).