UK 00:56 Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
In a bear market, defensive stocks like Tobacco, utilities and Pharmaceuticals are always a good bet, these stocks tend to outperform the index. In my view utilities could take a big hit if bond yields rise, in the event of the Federal Reserve getting into trouble. Pharmaceutical stocks have been stimulated by takeover activity, but in the absence of deals they are still a safe bet. We always need drugs irrespective of the state of the economy.
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Comments
wildrides
Yeah but ……… and its a big but………. You may not have heard of this in your home land but , BAT make cigarettes . If you smoke them they give you lung cancer and you die . Innocent people breathing your smoke can die too.
Mark Howitt
Nice to see people who know what they’re talking about agree with me :)
BigPicture
wildrides – let’s not forget BAT’s harm reduction work, next generation products, its R&D, Nicoventures, and Vype. Saying they sell just cigarettes is not quite correct. BAT Group lead the way in Harm Reduction re: lowering toxicants…’
Have you even heard of ‘Heat not Burn’?
Jimbo
If people want to smoke then that should be their choice. I don’t own shares in BAT but if people choose to want to do things harmful to themselves, then it is important that they have the freedom to make that choice. I would therefore feel no guilt if i did own shares in BAT. I choose not to smoke. Others choose differently. I respect that choice and their right to make it – even if I don’t agree with it.