MarketWatch – The performances of automotive and automotive parts companies are good gauges of the economy – after all, how many people would buy a new car if they thought their job wasn’t secure, not to mention the issue of securing financing.
Many of these stocks pay a dividend and they tend to either be less volatile than the market (beta less than 1.0) or much more volatile (as in beta of 2.0 or higher). The volatility may be distressing but it also means there is room for heavy gains.
