{"id":5948,"date":"2025-04-09T15:47:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T15:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/5948\/"},"modified":"2025-04-09T15:47:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T15:47:12","slug":"a-rally-could-be-coming-for-the-uk-stock-market-heres-how-i-aim-to-profit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/5948\/","title":{"rendered":"A rally could be coming for the UK stock market! Here’s how I aim to profit"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an unusual twist of fate, the UK stock market could take a lead over the US this year. Already, the S&P 500<\/strong>\u2018s down almost 14% this year while the FTSE 100<\/strong> has only dipped 6.7%.<\/p>\n

\"UKCreated on TradingView.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Last month it was reported that fund managers are overweight on British stocks \u2014 marking only the second such occurrence since 2022. Statistics reveal investors are making strategic shifts away from US stocks and into UK equities.<\/p>\n

This could lead to a much-needed revival for the FTSE 100<\/a> and other UK indexes. So what\u2019s the play?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my plan.<\/p>\n

Seeking value<\/p>\n

The 10% trade tariffs placed on the UK last week hurt the domestic market but already things are improving. Now might be the perfect time to seek out some undervalued stocks. At the same time, it may be wise to avoid companies that rely heavily on sales in the US.<\/p>\n

Here are three relatively insulated UK stocks that may be worth looking closely at for their defensive qualities.<\/p>\n

Domestic insurance<\/p>\n

As a leading UK insurer, Admiral Group<\/strong> focuses primarily on the domestic market. Insurance is a hugely competitive sector but the company has a decent 4.9% dividend yield and has demonstrated consistent performance, so it could be one to consider for investors seeking stability<\/p>\n

Local hospitality<\/p>\n

As the owner and operator of the Premier Inn hotel chain, Whitbread <\/strong>has a substantial UK footprint. The company\u2019s implementing an Accelerating Growth Plan, converting underperforming food and beverage sites into higher-profit hotel rooms, which could enhance profitability so may be worth further research.<\/p>\n

A food favourite<\/p>\n

Tesco <\/strong>(LSE: TSCO<\/a>) is the nation\u2019s leading supermarket chain and a favourite among shoppers. It commands around 28% of the local market, with a significant presence both physically and online.<\/p>\n

With a predominantly UK-based supply chain, it\u2019s well-positioned to avoid the worst effects of US trade policy. It\u2019s for this reason that I think analysts look favourably towards Tesco \u2014 due to its minimal reliance on imports, it seems to be less vulnerable to the tariff chaos.<\/p>\n

But renewed competition from rival Asda has been weighing heavily on the stock. It\u2019s down 12% in the past month, driven by news that Asda plans to undercut prices and steal back customers. If that happens, it could put pressure on Tesco\u2019s already thin operating margins of only 4%.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s enjoyed several years of dividend growth, so I would hate to see it have to cut dividends<\/a> to save money.<\/p>\n

A history of resilience<\/p>\n

While competition\u2019s a risk, the retailer\u2019s history suggests strong resilience in the face of such adversity. I\u2019m optimistic it will once again develop a competitive strategy to meet and overcome this challenge.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s already announced cost-cutting measures to simplify operations and enhance efficiency. It also aims to ramp up its food waste reduction plans by offering items for free in the run-up to closing time.<\/p>\n

For UK investors, domestically-focused companies like Tesco may help to provide a buffer against international trade uncertainties. And as things look to be improving, these companies are well-positioned to benefit from a UK stock market rally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In an unusual twist of fate, the UK stock market could take a lead over the US this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3091],"tags":[51,2166,3241,2441,2168,2169,2170,2171,2172,2173,2174,3242,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-5948","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-category-investing","10":"tag-category-value-shares","11":"tag-markets","12":"tag-partner-feeds-dbc-media","13":"tag-partner-feeds-fineco","14":"tag-partner-feeds-flipboard","15":"tag-partner-feeds-msn","16":"tag-partner-feeds-pluto-invest","17":"tag-partner-feeds-sharesight","18":"tag-partner-feeds-yahoo-uk","19":"tag-tickers_global-lse-tsco","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114308791946576966","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}