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Rebalance Your Portfolio to Counter Dilemma Over Recovery

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Wall Street witnessed an impressive rally in the past one and half  month that helped all three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — to exit the bear-market territory after entering it on Mar 11 and 12, respectively. However, market volatility has heightened this week on dilemma over a quick reopening of the economy and uncertainty about a V-shaped recovery.

Concerns Over Reopening and Recovery

In the first three trading days of the week,  the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, tumbled 4.51%, 3.78% and 2.83%, respectively.

On May 12, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stated in a Senate committee hearing that reopening the U.S. economy in a hurry could lead to more disease outbreaks and unnecessary deaths. Per Fauci, the nation could face more “suffering and death” if states start to reopen too quickly.

On May 13, during a webcast with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell said that the path toward recovery from the viral outbreak will likely be a treacherous one. Powell also said that the current recession is unprecedented and likely the worst since World War II.

Moreover, geopolitical tensions between the United States and China have intensified over the coronavirus outbreak. On May 13, President Donald Trump tweeted that 100 trade deals between the United States and China will not be able to make up for the losses his country has suffered owing to "the plague from China."

Rebalance Your Portfolio

Markets stay northbound despite volatility and the worst is most likely behind us as negative estimates are already factored in valuations. However, coronavirus-led woes are persisting in the United States and globally. This may lead to indiscriminate fluctuations in stock prices in the short term. At this stage, a combination of aggressive and defensive stocks after filtering with proper selection criteria will be prudent for one's portfolio.

Invest in Growth Sector, Especially Technology Stocks

The technology sector always remains in the forefront of any Wall Street rally. The impressive performance of stock markets in the past one and half month was also set in track by this space.

The technology sector was feared widely to suffer major setbacks owing to the coronavirus-induced economic disaster. In contrast, its strong growth came as a pleasant surprise to market participants.

Meanwhile, growth stocks are associated with aggressive earnings or revenue improvements, which should propel their prices higher in the future. There are several growth stocks available in the technology sector. Notable among them are NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) , ServiceNow Inc. (NOW - Free Report) , Fortinet Inc. (FTNT - Free Report) , Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) and Shopify Inc. (SHOP).

Invest in Health Care Stocks That Are COVID -19 Players

The recent economic disaster and the consequent stock market turmoil globally is not the result of any economic, financial or geopolitical factor but a biological hazard in the form of coronavirus.

This makes companies, whose drug's for the treatment of COVID -19 are in clinical trials, highly attractive to investors despite the fact that the sector itself is defensive in nature. Some of these stocks are Moderna Inc. (MRNA - Free Report) ,  Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) and Sanofi (SNY).

Minimize Portfolio Risks With Low-Beta High-Yielding Stocks

Low-beta (beta value less than 1 but greater than zero) are less volatile than the broader market. During the period of stiff market downturn in February and March, several low-beta stocks have actually recorded stellar gains. Moreover, regular dividend will ensure a steady income stream.

Therefore, low-beta, high-yielding stocks will be preferred to reduce portfolio risks when volatility has become part of daily trading at least for the near term. Stocks that fulfill this criteria includes The Clorox Co. (CLX - Free Report) , B&G Foods Inc. (BGS - Free Report) , Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY - Free Report) , Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) and General Mills Inc. (GIS).

Filter Stocks With Proper Selection Criteria

While all the above-mentioned companies are battling coronavirus to stay afloat, one should invest in stocks with either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). Stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 have beaten the market in 26 of the last 32 years with an average annual return of 24.5% per year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Second, select stocks with strong growth potential, especially with a double-digit growth rate for the rest of 2020. Third, select stocks with positive earnings estimate revisions in last 7 to 30 days. A positive earnings estimate revision during the period of coronavirus-induced turmoil highlights a solid business model and robust growth potential. 

The chart below shows the price performance of seven highlighted stocks in the past month.

 

Zacks’ Single Best Pick to Double

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each picked their favorite to gain +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Zacks Director of Research, Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

This young company’s gigantic growth was hidden by low-volume trading, then cut short by the coronavirus. But its digital products stand out in a region where the internet economy has tripled since 2015 and looks to triple again by 2025.

Its stock price is already starting to resume its upward arc. The sky’s the limit! And the earlier you get in, the greater your potential gain.

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