what is a counter cyclical stock 
as the term counter implies a counter cyclical stock is noncyclical its price is inclined to move in the opposite direction from that in which the economy appears to be headed the prices of these stocks tend to go up when the economy is struggling and a recession is looming or has already begun 6the bottom linea cyclical stock moves in sync with trends in the economy the price soars when the economy is flourishing but it can just as easily tank in times of recession these stocks tend to be companies that produce and sell products that are discretionary rather than necessary components of life think restaurant chains rather than groceries cyclical stocks tend to produce high returns but this is confined to times of economic strength they ll tank when the economy struggles they re volatile and should be balanced with noncyclical stocks in a portfolio 