Soccer's World Cup, kicking off June 9 in Germany, offers savvy global investors some tactical stock picking bets.
According to Richard Batty, global strategist at Standard Life Investments, Edinburgh, here are some likely winners:
cAdidas-Salomon AG, a corporate sponsor that is providing the official match ball for the month-long tournament and outfitting the national teams of Germany, Argentina, Spain and France.
cSamsung Electronics Co Ltd., Sony Corp., Sharp Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will benefit from increased sales of their high-definition televisions, and TPV Technology Ltd. has seen its share price rise on increased demand for the LCD televisions it assembles.
cU.K. retail outlets such as Dixons and Currys, both owned by DSG International PLC, have reported higher-than-expected sales of flat-screen TVs.
Also, with many games being played in the late afternoon and early evening, Mr. Batty predicts a surge in demand for pizza and beer. But he warns that the benefits for the hotel, airline and brewing sectors may be limited and short-lived.
Tournament host Germany could reap economic benefits worth $6.6 billion, mostly from consumer goods, retail and tourism sectors.
Also, research by ABN AMRO Bank NV shows that the tournament-winning team can bring their home nation additional GDP growth of up to 0.7 percentage points, said Mr. Batty. The losing finalist team, however, can be held responsible for shearing their country's GDP growth by 0.3 percentage points.
