Zebu blog

Tag: Economic Downturn

  • Should You Invest During A Recession?

    After Russia invaded Ukraine, the stock markets in India went down a lot. India imports more than 80% of the energy it needs, and prices for crude oil are going through the roof around the world. Also, international institutional investors have been taking their funds out of the Indian stock markets slowly since October 2021. As investors from all over the world rush to the safety of US government bonds, the Indian stock markets may fall even more. Should you buy stocks during a recession?

    Why do investors think it’s a good time to buy stocks when the economy is down?

    During a recession, the value of stocks tends to go down. When the stock market goes down, you may be able to buy shares of strong companies for less money. It is a business that is financially stable and has good corporate governance.

    If you want to invest in stocks that will give you good returns over a long period of time, you should choose companies with an economic moat. These businesses have an edge over their competitors because they have things like strong brands or good distribution networks.

    During a recession, you might want to invest in the stock market, which is known for long-term growth. Also, a stock market drop happens before a recession, so the economy goes through a stock market crash before it goes through a recession.

    Before buying stocks, many people wait until the stock market is at its lowest point. Analysts of the stock market warn against using this strategy because it’s hard to know when the stock market will hit bottom. To invest in a stock market that is going down, you need to know how to do it right.

    How to invest your money when the stock market goes down

    If you’re new to the stock market, you might want to invest in a diversified equity mutual fund instead of buying stock in a single company. Investing in stocks from different industries and businesses gives you the chance to spread your risk. For example, weaknesses in one area can be made up for by strengths in another.

    With a systematic investment plan, or SIP, you can put your money into equity-diversified mutual funds. It is a way to invest a fixed amount of money in a mutual fund scheme on a regular basis. When stock markets go down, you will buy more equity fund units, and when markets go up, you will buy fewer units. It helps make the price of buying units of equity funds more stable over time.

    If you know a lot about the stock market and are willing to take on more risk, you can invest directly in stocks. It is helpful to do research and choose cyclical companies with strong fundamentals that could do well when stock markets recover. For example, changes in the economy’s big picture have an effect on cyclical stocks in industries like financial services, travel, and hospitality.

    During a bad market, you might want to invest in companies that are safe. Some examples of defensive stocks are those from the fast-moving consumer goods, pharmaceutical, and utility industries. These are the stocks of companies whose products and services are still in high demand even when the economy isn’t doing well.

    During a recession, you shouldn’t buy stocks from companies that have a lot of debt on their balance sheets. When the economy is bad, it can be hard for these businesses to pay their interest bills. You could fight the urge to stay away from the stock market when it goes down. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on important opportunities to make money from the market’s recovery and higher returns.

    During a recession, you might be able to buy fundamentally sound stocks at lower prices. Also, after doing a good job of researching stocks, you need to invest using a good investment strategy.

  • What Are Defensive Stocks?

    What do we mean when we say that a stock is defensive? As the name suggests, these are the stocks you can count on when the market is moving around a lot. These are the stocks that don’t lose as much value when the market goes down as most high beta stocks. So, what do defensive stocks look like, and what are the benefits of having defensive stocks in your portfolio? Let’s look at some of the things that defensive stocks have in common and some examples of defensive stocks in India.

    1. Things that never go out of style

    When you talk about traditional industries that never go out of style, food, FMCG products, etc. come to mind. Food and cleaning products are used in different ways, but what they are used for doesn’t change much. In fact, the only time that these products become more popular is when the economy gets richer. Because of how stable their demand is, they tend to be less volatile and can keep their price and returns even when times are bad. Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Marico, Britannia, and Havells are all great examples of Indian defensive stocks. Of course, they might not give you the same kind of return that most high beta stocks do, but that’s not the point. The main idea is to put your attention on stocks that can protect the value of your portfolio when times are bad.

    2. Businesses that are always in demand

    This can be a continuation of the last point, but there are many people who can benefit from this trend. Aside from food and FMCG, this group also includes stocks in pharmaceuticals and cement. For instance, the need for cement can be put off, but it can’t be eliminated. Because of this, cement stocks tend to keep their value even when the market is bad. It’s an example of prices changing to reflect more realistic growth expectations. But there hasn’t been much of a drop in demand for these goods.

    3. Dividend yields that are appealing

    Stocks with a high dividend yield are a good example of defensive stocks. Most of the time, defensive stocks are those with dividend yields of 6–7% or more. Because they generate annuity income, the attractive dividend yield makes them very attractive at lower levels. In India, this category includes stocks like NTPC, Coal India, NMDC, REC, Chennai Petroleum, IOCL, and BPCL. They come from many different industries, but what they all have in common is a good dividend yield. In many cases, the yield on the dividend is better than the yield on the bond itself.

    4. Big businesses with strong business plans

    We’ve seen this happen with companies that have been around for a while and have grown to the point where repeat business doesn’t take much work. In this group are companies like TCS, Infosys, Reliance, Maruti, etc. Even when these companies’ stocks go down on the stock market, investors know that they will eventually go back up. And over the years, these stocks haven’t let their investors down very often. When the market is bad, these stocks can be good places to put your money. They might not give you the kind of returns that many midcaps do, but like most defensive stocks, they do a great job of protecting you from the risk of going down.

    5. Priced conservatively in terms of P/E and P/BV

    One of the most common characteristics of defensive stocks is that their P/E and P/BV ratios are still relatively low. If you look at companies like Reliance, IOCL, BPCL, and NTPC, you’ll see that most of them are priced in a way that makes them seem like good deals. Of course, most of the time there isn’t much room for growth or the size works against them. But you can be sure that these stocks will do pretty well even if they go down. Also, when the market goes down, they make a case for buying, and you can be sure that these stocks will go up again in the long run. Since valuations change quickly in their favour, having a low P/E and P/BV is an added benefit.

    6. The business doesn’t really follow a cycle

    Commodity businesses like steel, aluminium, and zinc can be pretty cyclical because the prices of metals are largely based on the international prices on the raw materials. When the economic cycle goes against them, there is a big chance that prices will go down. Second, when these stocks go down, it takes a long time for them to get back to where they were before. This is because commodity cycles tend to last longer. Because of this, most metals and commodities stocks are not good choices for a defensive bet. Even if they have good price-to-earnings ratios, they do not become basket cases. More often, defensiveness comes from stocks that have a moat that sets them apart.

    7. Low beta stocks are good defensive bets

    Most of the time, stocks with low betas are those that are good for protecting your money. Think about the Indian Nifty. Stocks with Betas that are much lower than 1 include Cipla, ACC, Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Unilever, IOCL, and Infosys. Even though these stocks may not do well in bull markets, they tend to hold their value better when markets are down or too volatile. On the other hand, stocks with high betas like Bosch, Eicher Motors, ICICI Bank, and Adani SEZ are not good defensive bets. They are more likely to be played in markets with a lot of action.

    When the market is bad, defensive stocks are a good way to protect your money. That is the whole point of defensives!

  • Types Of Fear In The Stock Market – Part 2

    Here are two more phenomenons traders and investors fear about the stock market and a few tips to avoid them.


    If you are a regular investor or a trader, you know how important the tools are. And as a share trading company, we understand that you need the best share trading platform so we are here to give you just that along with the lowest brokerageoptions.

    3. Don’t listen to the crowd

    What is the government like and how is it like the stock market? Everyone has an opinion on them, no matter how much they know or how high up they are.

    People talk about the stock market as if they know everything about it, even though they don’t. In a corporate office, people talk about all kinds of things, and one person’s opinion might have been the start of a rumour. Don’t blindly agree with these points of view. It is very important that you do market research for your portfolio.

    “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful,” says a famous quote from an investing genius.

    4. Diversify into multiple asset classes

    We just can’t say this enough. This is the most important thing you can do to lessen the risks of the stock market. To diversify means to put your money in different things so that if one doesn’t work out, the whole portfolio doesn’t lose money. The first rule of investing is to do this.

    Investing in different things comes with different kinds of risks. Having both high-risk and low-risk products in your portfolio gives it a sense of balance. Because of this, the best portfolios are made up of a mix of equity, debt, and cash. It could even have land or gold in it. But having one thing out of all of them is a big problem.

    5. Figure out the risk

    Risk appetite is how willing you are to take risks. It depends on the person and what stage of life they are in. If you’re a student or young person, you don’t have to worry about feeding anyone or taking care of a home, so you can take risks. But as people age, their responsibilities grow. One needs to plan for getting married, sending their kids to school, and finally, retiring. Over time, people become less willing to take risks, which makes them afraid of the stock market.

    So, before you invest your money, you should carefully look at the product you want to buy, its risk model, and whether or not it fits your risk tolerance. The stock market has its own risks, but if you are careful, you can make good money from it.

    Conclusion

    Investing in the stock market is definitely scary and full of big risks.

    But if you stay calm, learn to make decisions that make sense, and use these strategies, you can have a smooth sail.

    Successful investors have made a lot of money by making the right choices at the right times. How would you know you’re not one of them if you’re always afraid of the stock market? So, don’t wait until tomorrow; start now and see what happens.

    As a share trading company, we understand that you need the best share trading platform so we are here to give you just that along with the lowest brokerage options.

  • Types Of Fear In The Stock Market – Part 1

    Large Cap vs Mid Cap vs Small Cap: Key Differences That Actually Matter

    The fear of the stock market is real, and why wouldn’t it be? How can someone trust the market cycle and go with it when there are so many unknowns and the market will always be volatile? Especially when our hard-earned money is at stake! Before we get into understanding the various types of fears in the stock market, it is important to understand that the technology you use is as important as the strategy. And as a share broking company, we offer the best trading accounts with the lowest brokerage for intraday trading.

    At the end, who wants to lose?

    People have lost tens of thousands of rupees in the past when the stock market went down. Because of this, when the stock market crashes, people tend to pull their money out of fear, which leads to even more losses. It’s a never-ending loop. So, what should we do? To stop further capital loss and deal with stock market fear, you need patience and tried-and-true strategies.

    How to Deal with Stock Market Anxiety Let’s look at some of the best and easiest ways to deal with this fear of the stock market:

    1. Don’t try to catch the bottom of the market Value investing is the most basic way to put money into the stock market. The one backed by Warren Buffet is a strategy in which you just buy stocks when their value goes down and sell them when it goes up. This sounds like a good way to deal with fear about the stock market. But when they do this, some people invest a large amount of money all at once. This should be avoided at all costs. There are many different ways to trade and invest in stocks, so you must be very careful. You need to put some money at one low and some at the other until you reach the lowest point and the recovery begins.

     2. Have patience. When markets start to go down, people tend to panic and get rid of their stock market investments out of fear. When you invest in stocks for the long term, you do so with a specific time frame and goal in mind. If you take these away when things are bad, you lose in both ways. First, the capital value goes down, and second, the goal of the investment is no longer met. For example, you could buy a house in 5 years if you saved Rs. 5,000 per month in a SIP. Some of the money in your portfolio lost value, so you took it all out of fear. Where does it leave you? With a loss of capital and unfinished goals, and if the fund starts going up again (which it usually does in the first year after a drop), you would feel like you missed the bus. So, unless it’s an emergency, you can try not to sell your equity investments unless you have to. Giving your investments time to grow is a hard thing to do. The stock market is NOT a quick way to make money. For wealth to start and grow, you have to keep at it.

    As we mentioned, it is important to understand that the technology you use is as important as the strategy. And as a share broking company, we offer the best trading accounts with the lowest brokerage for intraday trading.