Insiders swoop on UK industrials

Prime Minister Theresa May’s dramatic call for “compromise” has sent sterling up as much as 185 pips since Tuesday night. The typical negative impact on giant FTSE stocks linked to non-sterling revenues is well-known.

Theresa May’s definitive move towards a softer deal poses further sterling upside risk. That could weigh more on FTSE multinationals.

Conservative Party fallout could unseat May, heralding an election and markets have been averse to that possibility of late. Until it crystallises though, Brexit-sensitive shares look favoured, particularly those left undervalued by economic and political uncertainty.

Looking at insider buying is one way of pinpointing stocks expected to outperform as the Brexit outlook changes, assuming investible information can be gained by proxy.

Key takeaways

• Results confirm insiders shunned most FTSE 100 shares over the last month
• There’s a bias for industrial groups
• Technical indications show two stocks slightly below their 50-day moving average with most moderately above
• Most shares are moderately-to-sharply outperforming their index
• The highest insider buys are for fund manager Jupiter. It manages international and UK mutual funds. UK outflows have been severe over the last few years
• It’s worth remembering that more factors influence a stock’s performance than can be squashed into a short article. As well, trading or investing can’t be based on just a few focus points. Still, informed investors seem to be favouring a specific flavour of British shares as Brexit shows signs of softening.