Investors on the hunt for ways to play defense if losses deepen in what has suddenly become a volatile market may want to take a look at these stocks. Financial markets tumbled this week on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting of the year, as the central bank cut rates by a quarter point but pointed to just two cuts next year instead of the four originally projected. That fueled a sell-off that extended the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s longest daily losing streak since 1974. Stocks bounced back Friday, but that doesn’t mean the volatility has run its course or that the market won’t enter a correction of 10% or more. Should that occur, CNBC Pro screened for individual stocks to help investors play defense. Our screen modeled for names with low beta, that don’t typically swing with the market; companies with a dividend yield of 3% or more; and stocks with good performance that have fallen less than 2% this week through Thursday and are up at least 10% year to date. Here are the names that turned up: Biopharmaceutical stocks Gilead Sciences and AbbVie were among the companies meeting the screening criteria, with shares down less than 1% this week and up at least 10% since the start of the year. Gilead also offers the lowest beta in the group. Entergy is the best performer of the group on a year-to-date basis, with shares up 47% in 2024 and up marginally on the week through Thursday, while Dominion Energy offers the largest dividend, paying a 5% yield. Two other utilities, a traditional refuge in times of turmoil, also made the cut: Duke Energy and American Electric Power .
Playing defense if the stock sell-off turns into a market correction
