The scale of panic gripping global markets since Britons hit the ‘Brexit’ button has been nothing short of breathtaking.
The FTSE 100 shed 3% of its value on Friday, as banks and housebuilders tanked, and a further drop yesterday took the index back below the 6,000 marker.
Sure, the FTSE may have bounced on Tuesday. But this cannot mask the huge political and economic battles that the UK, and indeed the broader global economy, faces in the weeks and months ahead.
Indeed, Britain’s banks have drawn £3bn in liquidity from the Bank of England, it was announced today, up from £370m in last week’s auction, in a desperate bid to absorb the potential shocks of a EU exit.
Up or down?
This has led many investors lost as to what to do next. Is today’s stock buying reflective of bargain hunting by savvy stock hunters ignoring the broader sense of panic? Or is it merely a ‘dead cat bounce’?
Well, we here at The Motley Fool certainly believe that share investing remains the best way to make your cash work for you, regardless of any potential speedbumps in the economic road ahead.
Our case is strengthened when you consider the ultra-low yields offered by corporate and government bonds, not to mention the meagre interest rates served up by savings accounts.
Rather than being a reason not to buy shares, last week’s vote has simply put a greater emphasis on investors to take greater care during the stock-selection process. There is certainly no need to throw your investment portfolio on the bonfire and begin panic selling, particularly not stocks that have suffered significant share price losses since late last week.
Instead, we believe there are plenty of shares out there now dealing at rock-bottom prices, and which still have a very bright future ahead of them.
Bourse beauties
I reckon that Prudential is one such share. Sure, the life insurance giant may suffer from a cooling UK economy in the near-term — Prudential sources around a fifth of total profits from overseas — but the company’s rampant expansion in Asia should deliver exceptional returns in the years ahead.
And a forward P/E rating of 10.5 times, allied with a chunky 3.4% dividend yield, certainly makes Prudential an attractive pick at current prices.
There are also plenty of defensives out there that should continue to thrive following last week’s ballot.
Sure, electricity provider National Grid and tobacco giant Imperial Brands, for example, may have seen their share price gallop as investors have piled into safe-haven stocks. But prospective earnings multiples of 15.3 times and 14.9 times respectively, not to mention dividend yields of 4.6% and 4.4%, still provide plenty of value for long-term investors.
Meanwhile, hotel operator Whitbread should benefit from a weaker pound as travellers flock from abroad. And recent stock price weakness has left the Premier Inn operator dealing on a forward P/E rating of 15.9 times, and a handy payout yield of 2.5%.
