Stocks for your stocking
2018 has ended on a particularly gloomy note, but the recent turbulence in the US tech and UK retail markets shouldn’t put you off the entire market. Christmas can be the most wonderful time of the year for companies. You just have to pick the right ones.
It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a particularly happy Christmas for investors. Following a sharp slump in October and continued declines in November, “it is unlikely that the global equity market will enjoy a strong year-end rally,” warns Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management. Retail is a particularly miserable place to be after ASOS’ (LON: ASC) recent profit warning sparked fears of a widespread downturn in consumer spending. The relative calm of the UK’s high streets and shopping centres – unusual in the week running up to Christmas – suggests that ASOS will not be the last company…