The Stock Market: Not As Bad as It Seems

While a lot of people might have to work during President’s Day, the stock market will be closed – and that is considered as the best part of this holiday. And what with the activities that happened the previous week, it can be said that everyone deserves a break. During the previous week, the market ended up tanking because S&P 500 fell down four point eight percent thereby putting it down another eight point five percent for the entire year. And of course, this is pretty much despite a newer bank bailout plan as well as the economic stimulus bill that was passed out in Congress.

While Recession is Upon Us, A Silver Lining Still Remains in the Clouds

But of course, things are not all bad. Compared to the previous year, a lot of the selling was contained to the shares in the financial companies – which is the S&P Banking Index being down by forty six percent at the moment this year. To be exact, around one hundred and seventy two of stocks found in S&P 500 are pretty much in positive territory. That is probably not impressive at all, but you also have to know that the previous year of 2008 there was only a mere twenty five stocks that had finished completely in the black. It may also be promising to note that there will be a bit more than a third of the stocks of S&P to be holding up quite reasonably. Of course, it is not surprising to note that a lot of the winners this year have placed themselves in the defensive sectors so that companies are going to fare well during this recession.

What’s Good News in the World of Stocks: Company-Wise Increase

There are several stocks in healthcare, for example, which are among the leaders of the market like Cigna (managed-care provider part of the Fortune 500), Mylan (a generic drug maker company) and St. Jude Medical, which is a manufacturer of cardiovascular devices. There are also some companies in the consumer-staples business, which is a firm that makes food, beverage, personal care products and other everyday items. The shares of the tobacco company Lorillard, Dean Foods (a milk producer company) and soft drink company Coca-Cola Enterprises are up for more than ten percent this entire year. Of course, what you probably fail to realize is that the shares of some economically-sensitive companies which were pummeled in the previous year will start to bounce back slowly. This may very well be a sign that the bargain hunters are planning to bet on a sort of economic rebound sometime later this year 2009 or possibly in the early 2010.