How can you prepare should things turn South?
The EU could drive a hard bargain, not wanting to make it look like the UK is getting a good deal in order to deter other countries from offering similar referendums on membership. As a result, there may be potential during the next two years for the UK government to be on the receiving end of some serious blows to their proposed plans, perhaps on a weekly or even daily basis. This might cause the stock market to react negatively on occasion.
Subsequently, we could see the UK Index , Pound Sterling and the Euro move significantly in reaction to the flavour of the day, whether that includes agreements being reached or some talks becoming in danger of falling through.
The prospect of an everchanging horizon could be daunting for some, but it needn’t be. By trading with Accendo Markets, you’ll have the ability to take both long and short positions, meaning that you’re able to profit from a stock market moving in either direction. With Brexit being a polarising event, we provide you the tools to benefit.
Do you see Brexit having a negative effect on the UK stock market, the Pound or the Euro? Take out a short position, that allows you to profit when markets move downwards. More details on this popular strategy during a bear market can be found here on our website.
Alternatively, you may believe that Brexit negotiations may provide a period with some stormy clouds, but also some sunny spots during the negotiations. In this scenario, you could hedge your portfolio – by using both long and short positions – in order to profit from market movements in either direction.
For example, if you were hoping to maintain a long position worth £10,000 in Barclays, but thought that the bank’s share price could fall during Brexit proceedings, you could open a short position with Accendo to the tune of £10,000 in order to negate a share price fall over a time period of your choice. For further details on how you can use short positions to hedge against falling prices, watch our educational video on the subject here.
But could it really be that bad?
It may be obvious to point out, but the EU also has vested interest in maintaining strong links with the UK. German car manufacturers, for example, provide a significant volume of exports to the UK, while governments in countries with a high number of citizens living in the UK, such as Poland, will hope to guarantee their rights.
Another country with particular interest in an acceptable deal for the UK is Spain. With the country not wanting to prompt further independence calls from its Catalonian territory, it might not want to give Britain a deal that might provoke a second Scottish referendum, not to mention the potential loss of British expats’ trade!
Finally, the UK provides a key access point for many European financial institutions to US and Asian markets. Without wanting to waste millions of dollars and upend hundreds of thousands of people and families, banks may look to keep some operations going in Britain, requiring some form of deal for the all-important sector.
So far, the EU has said that it too is hoping a deal can be reached before the March 2019 deadline for negotiations is reached. But without a crystal ball, it is impossible to say that this will definitely be the case!
Over the page, we analyse six UK 100 stocks – three that reacted negatively and three that reacted positively to the referendum – and provide an index example that could present you with an Article 50 trading opportunity!
