Historically, September is the stock market's weakest month - but in this September, at least, stocks have been surging.
Across the equity universe, there have been gains this week. Solid economic news, including strong manufacturing-industry indexes from both the U.S. and China, helped bolster stocks, and solar companies have benefited from the uptrend.
Shares of Chinese solar companies rose in the middle of the week on the manufacturing data. On Wednesday, solar-module manufacturers Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) and Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) rose 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively. On Thursday, Jinko Solar (NYSE: JKS) - a relatively new entrant to the solar market - saw its shares move higher by nearly 6.5 percent.
LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), meanwhile, reached its highest price since May on the news that it had begun assembling solar cells at a new facility in China.
Solarfun Power Holdings (NASDAQ: SOLF) also posted solid gains, rising about 7 percent.
Also helping Chinese solar stocks this week was a report from Bloomberg, which quoted the general manager of Shanghai Elegant Investment co. as saying that solar companies would be a smart investment. Shi Bo noted that the Chinese government plans to advocate more heavily for low-carbon energy technologies.
'China's shift away from energy-intensive and polluting industries to a low-carbon economy is one of the key investment opportunities in the next three years,' Bloomberg quoted Shi as saying.
An American investment firm also emphasized the upside potential in Chinese solar stocks. Jefferies & Co. emphasized that it had a 'buy' rating on Solarfun, Yingli, JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO) and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL).
'We believe more German/Japanese brands are pursuing a white-label module approach, sourcing [solar] modules from China,' Jefferies said.
North American companies saw more moderate gains. Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) reported a sharp decline in second-quarter earnings, but its stock rose slightly as it predicted higher demand for solar equipment in the months to come.
First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR), meanwhile, rose about 3.6 percent. While the company has been something of a darling among solar-stock analysts, one research group, at least, was less bullish on it. Axiom Capital Partners suggested in a research report this week that the company's decision not to attend a solar conference in Valencia, Spain next week could hurt its stock price.
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Historically, September is the stock market's weakest month - but in this September, at least, stocks have been surging.
