It’s official – the FTSE 100 had a stock market correction. The recent turbulence – mostly as a result of the brewing conflict in the Middle East – has spooked investors and caused markets to sink. The Footsie fell from the 10,900s to the 9,600s in a month, with many individual stocks taking serious damage (although it should be said a recent jump has pulled us out of correction territory again).
Times of panic often turn out to be the best buying opportunities. Last year’s ‘Liberation Day’, for example. turned out to be a temporary dip where many stocks were trading at 20%-25% discounts. That’s why many of us are scouting those shares that have been irrationally sold off and could be undervalued buys today. Let’s take a look at some of the hardest hit stocks.
Big names
The brunt of the carnage has been suffered by the housebuilding sector. Since late February, Barratt Redrow shares are down 32% and Persimmon shares down 28%. With inflation expected to surge in the coming months, the already squeezed margins of these companies could take a battering. And if interest rates go up to deal with the inflation then they’ll have more expensive mortgages to contend with too.
Airlines are also taking damage. IAG shares are down 25% and easyJet (LSE: EZJ) down 21% over the same period (easyJet now having dropped to the FTSE 250 on 23 March as a result). The rising price of oil increases fuel costs, while the chaos in one of the world’s travel hubs is causing cancelled flights too.
A few other big names have suffered over the period too. Drinksmaker Diageo is down 24%, British bank Barclays is down 21%, and miner Anglo-American is down 21%.
Temporary blip?
Out of those, what could be due for a turnaround? Well, if the Iran conflict comes to a swift resolution, as I’m sure we’re all hoping, then easyJet could be one to consider.
To start with, the valuation has hit possible bargain levels. The firm now trades at 5.5 times earnings. That’s about as low as you can get across the FTSE 350 and about a third of the average. That might be a strong sign that this is a cheap time to buy.
A swift resolution might see a quick turnaround too. Airlines buy fuel well in advance. So the current $100 a barrel price of oil might not affect them too much if the price starts to fall soon.
The ongoing cancellation of airlines might be a temporary blip. An end to the conflict might see flights back and running again and the Middle East regaining its status as a central hub between Europe and Asia. There is a danger too, however, that the episode will have shaken consumer confidence even if the war ends soon. The early signs are that folks are already making changes to travel bookings.
On the whole? A lot of uncertainty. But I wouldn’t be shocked to see easyJet turn out to be a cheap buy sometime down the line.
