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Powell's Hawkish Tone Flares Up Volatility: 5 Ultra-Safe Picks

Fed Chair Jerome Powell, last week, firmly indicated that interest rates would move higher than what policymakers had anticipated in September. He had emphasized that it’s “premature” to discuss pausing interest rate hikes, while policymakers collectively agreed that tightening of monetary policy may, in due course, impact economic growth.

Powell intends to continue hiking interest rates as long as inflation remains elevated. He acknowledged that inflation may have softened from its fastest rise in more than 40 years, yet core inflationary pressure continues to accelerate at a painful pace. The core consumer price index, which generally excludes food and energy components, jumped 6.6% year over year in September and registered its highest 12-month climb since 1982, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

The Fed, by the way, has already approved its fourth consecutive rate hike of 75 basis points on Nov 2, taking the interest rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%. The CME FedWatch Tool added that there is a 66% possibility of a half percentage point rate hike in December, taking the interest rate to between 4.25% and 4.5%. In fact, more rate hikes are looming owing to better-than-expected payroll numbers. The labor market adde 261,000 jobs in October, way more than analysts’ expectations.

Any increase in jobs is expected to boost consumer outlays, thereby lifting the prices of essential goods and services. On the contrary, the Fed is aiming to curb inflation, which will no doubt lead to future rate hikes. Economists are also widely expecting Fed’s terminal rate to be 5% by mid-2023, citing a MarketWatch article.

However, a rate hike doesn’t bode well for the stock market since it affects consumer spending habits and deters economic growth. Perhaps that’s the reason why major bourses like the Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq posted weekly declines on Nov 4. But investors shouldn’t be upset. Instead, they should place their bets on risk-adjusted stocks like Archer Daniels Midland ADM, Lamb Weston LW, General Mills GIS, American Electric Power AEP and National Fuel Gas Company NFG.

These stocks belong to the consumer staples and utility sectors making them non-cyclical in nature, or in other words their activities remain unperturbed by market gyrations. Additionally, they are dividend payers, possessing a better-quality business, which makes them immune to market volatility. To top it, these stocks have a low beta (ranges from 0 to 1) making them less unstable than the broader market. These stocks also boast a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Archer Daniels Midland is one of the leading producers of food and beverage ingredients as well as goods made from various agricultural products. The company has a beta of 0.85 and a Zacks Rank #1.
ADM has a dividend yield of 1.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 9.3% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 42.6%.

Lamb Weston is a leading global manufacturer, marketer and distributor of value-added frozen potato products, particularly French fries, and provides a range of appetizers. The company has a beta of 0.54 and a Zacks Rank #1.
LW has a dividend yield of 1.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 8.6% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 45.7%.

General Mills is a global manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. The company has a beta of 0.34 and a Zacks Rank #2.
GIS has a dividend yield of 2.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 2% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 3.6%.

American Electric Power is a public utility holding company, which, through directly and indirectly owned subsidiaries, generates, transmits and distributes electricity, natural gas and other commodities. The company has a beta of 0.41 and a Zacks Rank #2.
AEP has a dividend yield of 3.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 0.6% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 6.1%.

National Fuel Gas Company is an integrated energy company, which has natural gas assets located in the prolific Appalachian basin and oil-producing assets in California. The company has a beta of 0.74 and a Zacks Rank #1.
NFG has a dividend yield of 3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 8.6% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 26.5%.


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American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
General Mills, Inc. (GIS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
National Fuel Gas Company (NFG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Lamb Weston (LW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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