Warning sign as makers of soap and other staples lead US stocks

The best-performing US stocks right now are ones that usually do well when the economy isn’t, makers of everything from household cleaning products to food. It’s yet another black cloud for investors fretting over a growth slowdown.

Consumer staples stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index — which include Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola — have outpaced the benchmark gauge for seven straight weeks, the longest stretch since November 2007, when the US economy was on the brink of its last recession.

Valuations have also jumped, with the group’s price-earnings ratio 14% above the five- year average.