Please cast your mind back to the grim days of autumn 2020. This was before news of several effective Covid-19 vaccines gave us hope, fuelling sharply rising share prices in November. After leaping from Meltdown Monday (23 March 2020) to early June, the FTSE 100 index then dived as Covid-19 infections surged. By 30 October, the FTSE 100 had slumped to a second-half closing low.
But which were the best shares to buy from the FTSE 100 six months ago, before the light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel?
The FTSE 100 soars on vaccine news
On 30 October 2020, the FTSE 100 closed at 5,577.30 points, having lost over 900 points (14%) since 5 June. Today, the Footsie stands at 6,737.22. That’s an increase of almost 1,160 points in five months, up more than a fifth (20.8%). In other words, Halloween horrors have been replaced by happier times since. But what if I had a time machine and could go back six months, before the stock market bottomed out? Which would have been the best shares to buy from the FTSE 100 (my hunting ground for large-cap value shares)?
Winners and losers since 30 September
I’ll go back six months to 30 September 2020 (exactly one month before the autumn market low). Which would have been the best shares to buy then and hold until today?
Of the 101 shares in the FTSE 100, 77 of these stocks have risen over the past six months. Gains among these 77 winners range from a tiny 0.5% to a whopping 137.7%. Across all 77 gainers, the average rise is a healthy 33.2% (almost exactly a third). Among the 24 FTSE 100 losers over six months, losses range from a teeny 0.1% to an unpleasant 25.4%. The average loss across these 24 fallers was 11.8%. Now let’s find out the five best shares to buy from the FTSE 100 six months ago.
The FTSE 100’s best shares to buy
As is so often the case, the most beaten-down stocks have enjoyed the biggest rebounds over the past half-year. From the FTSE 100, these were the five best shares to buy on 30 September 2020 and own…