As the markets remain volatile, the chances are that the chatter on the street is about “defensive stocks”. This is nothing new. From 1994 to 2025, a span of 30 years, one thing has remained constant: Advice to move to defensive stocks when the market is volatile. Why bring this up now? Because, the mistake investors make when they turn defensive is to pick up FMCG stocks. Can stocks that were considered defensive in 1994, when the Indian economy was just opening up, still be called that in 2025? We are, after all, in an entirely different economy, with different needs and consumption patterns. So, which are the new defensive stocks?
