The first dramatic days following the Brexit vote have seen savers and investors buffeted by a two-speed stock market.
While the closely-watched FTSE-100 index plunged steeply for two days before recovering its loss entirely by Wednesday night, the stocks within it ranged from 20per cent losses to 10per cent gains.
Two-thirds were in negative territory and a third were down by more than 10 per cent. A third were showing gains, led by a handful of big hitters accounting for 60per cent of the index by market value: Shell, BP, British American Tobacco, Diageo, AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline.
The more UK-focused FTSE-250 meanwhile was still eight per cent down over the four days.
Laith Khalaf , senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said it was “a tale of two stock markets. The share prices of big companies with international revenues had prospered, while those exposed to the UK economy had been severely marked down, then bounced significantly.
On Thursday Bank of England governor Mark Carney talked of an interest rate cut later this year, sparking an immediate rise in the FTSE.
Ben Bretell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Once again we seem to be in a world where a few words from a central banker can move markets in an instant. Stock markets clearly love monetary stimulus far more than they hate Brexit-related uncertainty."
Michelle McGrade, chief investment officer at online platform TD Direct, said: “Whilst the ups and downs continue daily, a sense of opportunity has been highlighted in the market which is demonstrated by TD customers favouring buying over selling.
"The buy to sell ratio of our top two traded stocks, Lloyds and Barclays, standing at 10:1 and 9.4:1 respectively.” RBS however was evenly split 5:5.
Adrian Lowcock, head of investing at Axa Wealth, said: “The initial reaction is always a knee jerk one and some stocks will overshoot on the way down - and up. However, the vote to leave the EU is going to weigh on markets for some time. The global impact is still unclear but an interest rate rise in the US looks off the cards for now. Political risk has risen significantly following the vote and investors are likely to remain risk averse.”
Jason Hollands, managing director of Tilney Bestinvest, said: “Private investors have adopted something of a bull-dog spirit, firmly ‘buying British’ with a clear focus on snapping up stocks in sectors that have been aggressively marked down in the aftermath of the vote.”
He said in most demand were financials (Lloyds , Barclays, RBS, Legal & General and Aviva) and housebuilders (Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Barratt Developments and Berkeley Homes) along with the likes of British Land, Easyjet and Marks & Spencer.
Buyers of funds had been pouncing on “active funds run by seasoned investors whose careers have endured challenging periods before” such as Neil Woodford (Woodford Equity Income), Terry Smith (FundSmith Equity) and Nigel Thomas (AXA Framlington UK Select Opportunities), as well as index funds, of which the HSBC FTSE 250 Index fund had proved the most popular.
Mr Hollands said: “Whether investors who choose to manage their own portfolios have found themselves genuine bargains in stocks that have been overly marked down due to Brexit anxieties, or moved in too early, only time will tell.
“Our own view is that markets are likely to remain skittish, until visibility improves on who will succeed David Cameron as PM, their negotiating stance on future relationship, and whether the more measured and constructive voices in the EU prevail over those who want to punish the UK.
"The extent of the economic impact over the coming months remains unclear at this juncture, but from an investment point of view, we see the weaker pound as providing support to UK-listed mega-caps with high overseas earnings profiles.”
The FTSE-100 was yielding over four per cent, Mr Hollands said, in even sharper contrast than previously to 10-year gilt yields.
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