Trading Desk
What’s hiding in your easter basket?
Market risks are sprouting up and volatility remains high. Equity derivatives with low barriers therefore promise spring fever. Which companies value investors should put in their Easter nest now.
While the children will soon be looking for Easter eggs, adult investors are asking themselves: is this the end of the “Lent” on the markets or are there more nasty surprises in store? The volatile news from America is currently not only dampening the mood in the boardrooms of European companies – the financial market is also struggling. The S&P 500 is down around 10% on this year’s highs and the Nasdaq 100 has slumped by 15%. As mentioned in this column last winter, the high-flyers Tesla and Nvidia in particular have become pure loss-making machines. Bitcoin has also been exposed here several times as a high-risk play. Now, 25% price losses since December are weighing heavily on the stomachs of many a late-coming crypto-guy.
Are the bulls back for easter?
On the markets, the bulls currently seem to be on an early Easter excursion. The bears are dominating both the US and European share indices. But be careful: it would be a mistake to write off the US equity market completely and to turn your portfolio upside down. The trick is to find new blooms. These are companies that are already past the “free fall” in their share price and have attractive cash flows with solid margins.
The two American logistics world champions UPS and FedEx, for example, will be exciting. For UPS in particular, the gradual separation from key client Amazon creates new lucrative potential instead of moving a lot of volume with an old customer but not earning any money. Stellantis, Ford and BMW are no less interesting. The Easter banger of 2025 is Leonteq thanks to its low valuation and record dividend. Well-known industrial stocks such as OC Oerlikon and Wacker Chemie also stand out thanks to their discount prices. These shares are available at the biggest Easter discount! It’s unbelievable how many investors forget how to spell things because of all the AI hype: V-A-L-U-E. This is how you build the foundation of a portfolio.
Good timing for a derivatives nest egg?
If you want to become active in the derivatives market with VIX volatility of around 22 or more, you can hardly go wrong at the moment. Price buffers of 45 to 50 % on interesting individual stocks, combined with realistic maturities, offer almost risk-free returns of 6 to 8 % in Swiss francs – regardless of what comes out of the USA. Therefore, now is the ideal time for a courageous Easter hunt and the targeted planting of the right stocks in the nest.
