Hurricane-Related Stocks To Watch

  • August 29, 2005
  • Brice Wightman

With hurricane Katrina being downgraded to a
Category 3 storm, stocks have lifted somewhat from earlier levels.
Any time we se a major hurricane hitting the U.S., you can be certain stocks
will be in focus. Among these are insurers and home improvement stocks.

Insurance stocks are in focus during hurricanes as these companies must pay
out claims to policyholders. When a hurricane is gathering force away from land,
analysts speculate as to what the likely path will be, as well as the potential
damage. Insurance stocks typically fall as a hurricane is at sea land but tend
to strengthen somewhat as it makes landfall. We are beginning to see this
phenomenon take effect in several stocks today. All the insurance stocks gapped
lower this morning but have steadily climbed throughout the session.

Allstate
(
ALL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is 0.70 lower, Hartford
(
HIG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is 0.95
lower, Renaissance Re
(
RNR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is off 0.79, Everest Re
(
RE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
is off 0.37 and AIG
(
AIG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is up 0.31.

Home builders are in focus as hurricane destruction must be repaired. Home
Depot
(
HD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is up 0.79 and Lowe’s
(
LOW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is up 0.81.

Brice Wightman