Image source: Getty Images <\/p>\n
Could a stock market crash be just around the corner? Given the FTSE 100\u2018s just reached new highs above 9,400 points, this may seem a ludicrous question to some.<\/p>\n
But in the uncertain economic and geopolitical climate, anything is possible. And there are some alarming indicators that deserve attention.<\/p>\n
According to Investment Association data, global retail investors pulled \u00a32bn out of share-based funds in August. This was the largest outflow on record, which the association attributed to<\/p>\n
\u201cInflationary pressures and weakening expectations of interest rate cuts\u201c.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinued uncertainty surrounding the longer-term impact of global trade tariffs\u201c.<\/p>\n
\u201cConcerns over elevated equity valuations\u201c.<\/p>\n
The FTSE 100\u2019s stride to record peaks, and strong gains on other indexes such as the S&P 500, would have done little to ease concerns over stock valuations either.<\/p>\n
Against this backdrop, it pays for investors to be prepared. But in my opinion, there\u2019s certainly no reason to sell up and head for the hills until things become clearer.<\/p>\n
The truth is that stock markets are remarkable in their ability to defy gravity. UK share prices may remain especially resilient too, given the cheap valuations of London-listed stocks some believe already price in the worst of investors\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n
Economic and conditions are never totally calm. Today\u2019s no exception. It doesn\u2019t mean that a share market crash is coming this month, year, perhaps even over the next decade.<\/p>\n
As I said however, it can pay to make plans in case of a market correction. Some possible steps to consider include reviewing one\u2019s asset allocation, reducing exposure to expensive shares, and making a list of stocks to buy if markets do drop.<\/p>\n
As a keen bargain hunter, I\u2019ve been creating a list of shares to buy. While the past doesn\u2019t always repeat itself, history shows that stock markets always bounce back strongly from crises. By buying after a heavy fall, I could make a tasty long-term profit for my portfolio.<\/p>\n
Sage Group\u2018s (LSE:SGE) a share I\u2019ve been looking at recently. Its fallen 14% in value since the start of 2025, yet its forward price-to-earnings (P\/E) ratio still stands at 22.9 times.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s substantially above the broader FTSE 100\u2032s level of 12.5 times, so Sage\u2019s shares are going for more money than I want to pay. A market correction could sort this out.<\/p>\n
As a company that provides accounting and payroll software to businesses, profits are highly sensitive to any economic downturns. But the long-term outlook\u2019s robust, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m interested in.<\/p>\n
Companies across the globe continue to rapidly digitalise their operations, providing Sage with excellent sales opportunities. It\u2019s also having enormous success in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), which could be significant \u2014 chief executive Steve Hare reckons AI will \u201cchange the nature\u201d of the accounting industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image source: Getty Images Could a stock market crash be just around the corner? Given the FTSE 100\u2018s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[28,20363,116374,90154,112,1169,32049,19605,116375],"class_list":{"0":"post-202099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ftse-100","10":"tag-investment-association","11":"tag-market-correction","12":"tag-markets","13":"tag-stock-market","14":"tag-stock-market-crash","15":"tag-stock-valuations","16":"tag-uk-share-prices"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}