US stocks to buy for the short term: The US stock market has seen healthy gains this year so far; the S&P 500 is up nearly 9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has gained about 10% year-to-date.
The S&P 500 closed last week at 7,457.69, while the Nasdaq Composite finished at 25,520.24.
The US stock market is at a crucial juncture of moderating inflation, resilient economic growth and healthy corporate earnings.
Subho Moulik, Founder and CEO, Appreciate, highlighted that while June inflation came in below expectations for a second consecutive month, and JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all opened earnings season ahead of expectations, the bigger takeaway came from earnings rather than macro data.
“Taiwan Semiconductor reported another record quarter, BlackRock crossed $15 trillion in assets under management, and Netflix delivered its highest quarterly revenue ever while continuing to build a meaningful advertising business. These companies operate in entirely different industries, yet together they illustrate how the AI investment cycle is evolving,” Moulik highlighted.
“The first phase rewarded companies building computing infrastructure. The next phase is rewarding businesses that can monetise that infrastructure through software, financial products and consumer platforms. Investors are no longer paying for AI potential alone—they are increasingly rewarding companies that are already converting AI investment into durable cash flows,” Moulik added.
Stock picks for the short term
As per Subho Moulik, this week’s five companies sit at different points along that value chain. He said investors may consider buying these five stocks for the next 1-2 weeks:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM)
Moulik pointed out that Taiwan Semiconductor reported Q2 revenue of NT$1.27 trillion ($40.2 billion), up 33.7% year-on-year, while net profit climbed to approximately NT$706.6 billion, another company record.
Demand for 3nm chips and CoWoS advanced packaging continues to exceed supply as Nvidia, AMD and the world’s largest cloud providers race to expand AI computing capacity.
Semiconductor manufacturing has become one of the most critical bottlenecks in the global AI economy.
“While software companies may ultimately capture customer attention, every meaningful AI application still depends on advanced chips, and virtually every advanced chip depends on TSMC. As long as AI infrastructure spending continues accelerating, TSMC remains one of the clearest beneficiaries of that global capital investment cycle,” said Moulik.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
Moulik highlighted that JPMorgan reported approximately $21.2 billion in second-quarter net income on roughly $57.3 billion of revenue, comfortably exceeding analyst expectations.
Investment banking activity strengthened, trading revenue remained robust, and consumer credit quality stayed stable despite elevated interest rates.
More importantly, JPMorgan provides one of the most comprehensive real-time snapshots of the U.S. economy.
“Its results suggest that households continue spending, businesses continue investing, and financial markets remain active. That combination matters because banking earnings often provide one of the earliest signals of whether economic momentum is strengthening or deteriorating. This quarter’s results point firmly toward resilience rather than weakness,” said Moulik.
Netflix (NFLX)
Moulik underscored that Netflix generated a record quarterly revenue of approximately $12.6 billion, representing 13% year-over-year growth, while continuing to expand operating margins.
Its advertising business is also scaling rapidly, transforming what initially appeared to be a defensive response to slower subscriber growth into an entirely new source of monetisation.
“Historically, streaming companies relied almost exclusively on subscription revenue. Netflix is increasingly generating both subscription and advertising income from the same customer base, improving profitability without requiring proportional subscriber growth. That evolution shifts Netflix from being viewed purely as a streaming platform to becoming a diversified digital media business with multiple avenues for earnings expansion,” Moulik said.
BlackRock (BLK)
Moulik pointed out that BlackRock ended the quarter managing more than $15 trillion of client assets, another all-time high. The broader ETF industry attracted a record approximately $1 trillion of net inflows during the first half of 2026, an 86% increase from a year earlier and nearly double the previous first-half record, even as markets swung repeatedly between optimism and caution.
“The message from investors is clear. Rather than attempting to time every market move, capital continues flowing into diversified equity exposure, particularly U.S. markets. Few companies are positioned to benefit more directly from that structural shift than BlackRock,” said Moulik.
“As passive investing continues gaining share and market leadership remains concentrated among America’s largest technology companies, BlackRock effectively participates in that growth regardless of which individual company ultimately outperforms,” Moulik said.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Taiwan Semiconductor’s record production confirmed that demand for AI chips continues to outpace supply, while the largest cloud providers remain committed to investing hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure.
Moulik said Nvidia’s competitive advantage extends beyond designing the world’s leading AI processors. Its hardware, networking and software ecosystem have become the foundation upon which enterprise AI is being built.
“As long as global technology companies continue expanding AI infrastructure, Nvidia remains one of the most important companies determining the pace of that investment cycle,” said Moulik.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. The views and recommendations expressed are those of the expert, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.
