Global stocks are gaining, if not at the pace of domestic equities. While the S&P 500 has risen 17% year to date, the EAFA index of large- and mid-cap stocks based in countries other than the U.S. and Canada has gained 9.5%. Over the past five years, the performance gap has been wider, with the S&P 500 advancing 94% compared to a 32% gain in EAFE. But the underperformance has given global stocks a valuation advantage, particularly in the area of dividends. Consider that the EAFE dividend yield of 2.9% is 170 basis points higher than the comparable S&P 500 dividend yield. We think global dividend stocks now offer opportunity, particularly given the endless speculation over the direction of interest rates in the U.S., which has created market-timing headaches for equity income investors, who have endured recent wide swings in prices for rate-sensitive equity in areas such as utilities, REITs and MLPs. In our view, investing in international income stocks is one way to increase portfolio diversification while reducing sensitivity to volatile U.S. interest rates. Investing in overseas stocks carries its own set of risks, including the impact of currency exchange and geopolitical turmoil. But there are also a number of positives in this asset class for U.S. investors, including a wide selection of companies that pay dividends, robust industry diversification, and, as we have mentioned, higher yields and lower valuations. Argus has recently boosted its global coverage, and recommends the following international dividend stocks, each of which has at least a long-term BUY rating from an Argus analyst. Note this list of approximately 25-30 companies offers exposure to eight of the 11 major industrial sectors. The list includes companies from 10 countries.

A merger between Astra of Sweden and Zeneca Group of the United Kingdom formed AstraZeneca in 1999. The firm sells branded drugs across several major therapeutic classes, including gastrointestinal, diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer, immunology and rare diseases. The majority of sales come from international markets with the United States representing close to one third of its sales.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a pervasive technology in the Healthcare sector. Companies have been adopting AI in medical imaging, drug discovery, documentation, and administration. In medical imaging and diagnostics, AI is advancing rapidly in the detection of tumors, infections, and fractures. In drug discovery, vast data sets are being used to identify potential drugs to treat disease and predict their efficacy. AI also can improve trial design and create treatments for a wider range of people, including those with rare diseases. The technology also has helped to create more-efficient methods for documenting medical information with Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). ASR enables voice-to-text technology and increases the productivity of medical staff by nearly 10%. For administrative tasks, AI has streamlined billing, scheduling, and fraud detection (a major issue that raises medical expenses for consumers). Here is a list of Argus BUY-rated Healthcare stocks that are leaders in the use of AI.

AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish company with its main headquarters in the U.K. and regional headquarters in Sweden and the U.S. It focuses on treatments for respiratory, autoimmune, and metabolic conditions, as well as on cardiology, neurology, and oncology drugs.