Pharma, FMCG will keep you company

4 Jul, 2008, 0141 hrs IST,Vijay Gurav, MUMBAI: It sounds hard to believe but investors do have their favourites even in a choppy market. It has happened in the past and the current market is no exception to this. An analysis of the trend in stock price movements during the past three major bear phases between May 1998 and June 2008 shows that some stocks have taken a relatively less beating or even gained smartly to outperform the broader market. Among the stocks which commonly figure mostly in the list of outperformers in a bear market are pharmaceutical and FMCG stocks which, according to analysts, are perceived to be defensive play in a bad market. Even some top-rung IT stocks offered positive returns on two occasions during the prolonged bear phase in the past. Analysts also attribute the standout performance of such... [read full story]