What Stocks to Watch and Possibly Buy While COVID-19 Paralyzes Economy

ON BLACK SATURDAY, I culled out pieces of stock investment advice amidst the economic slowdown from various reputable websites and blogs out there. STAY INVESTED — that’s one among what experts keep on saying and writing.

While I stay invested and keep being a little greedy while others are fearful just as what Warren Buffett once said, I also do some research about what stocks to watch and what to possibly buy anytime soon. I do not imply any expert recommendation here, rather simply present the outcomes of such an ongoing research.

[1] As Sergei Klebnikov writes on Forbes (read also in full: Here Are 20 Stocks to Buy in the ‘Coronavirus Economy’ According to Market Experts), “…there are still some companies that can benefit from the ‘coronavirus economy’ as more people stay at home during the outbreak.” He then specifies twenty stocks worth buying, per stock market analysts from Raymond James, Morningstar and Bespoke Investment Group, which include those under — healthcare, work-from-home economy, self-quarantine, and consumer goods.

Tolerance and patience should not be read as signs of weakness, they are signs of STRENGTH.

— signed MARCO (@signedMARCO) April 16, 2020

[2] Kylie Purcell and Tom Stelzer in an article published on Finder (see also Coronavirus (COVID-19): Stocks to Buy and How to Invest) identify the stocks that react negatively due to pandemic selling and market calls which include those in travel and tourism, electronics and manufacturing, mining, and energy. On the other hand, those which can be seen to benefit are almost the same as those already identified above — healthcare, insurance and protective gear manufacturers, ‘work and study from home’ companies, and the gold industry.

[3] COL Financial, the country’s leading online stockbroker, particularly identifies consumer and manufacturing stocks that face COVID-19 mixed impacts. While food manufacturers and distributors see increased demand for shelf-stable food items and hygiene-related products, these companies also deal with various supply chain issues, logistics constraints, and manpower concerns. Equally, non-essential retailers, even the liquor industry, suffer from weaker demand and scale down operations.

[4] In March, Business Mirror reported that financial stocks fell by 3.35%. COL Financial, on the other hand, downgrades their outlook for banks observing the inevitable reduced loan demand and curtailed financial transactions, however believes that these local financial institutions are in prime position to withstand the economic slowdown while comparing their current health against what they had during the 2008 global financial crisis.

[5] While there is a risk that this pandemic will last longer than expected assuming that containment measures fail, COL Financial (through Investing in Today’s Market Volatility: A Special COL Webinar Series) reiterates sticking to resilient over vulnerable sectors as part of stock investment strategy. These include retail non-discretionary and a few non-discretionary consumer sectors and telecommunications. On the other hand, vulnerable sectors comprise almost the rest particularly property, construction, media, and banking.

[6] In another fresh article, PHL Stocks Climb as Investors Pick Up Bargains, Business World cites what Philstocks’ research associate stated, “The continued rally [on April14] was on the back of optimism brought by the fiscal stimulus package of the Philippine government to fight the current pandemic.” Furthermore, as can be read, “Strong value flows, once sustained, could bring the market back to the 6,000 level.”