Many investment experts are worried that stocks are headed for a tumble.
The market is sitting at a lofty level, with the S&P 500 index 4 percent away from its record high. The index has seen only one 10 percent correction since October 2011, and the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has soared 32 percent since the S&P 500 peaked Dec. 29.
Meanwhile, plunging oil prices and the dollar's strength are providing a headwind for many companies' earnings.
So what's an investor to do?
MarketWatch columnist Philip van Doorn suggests low volatility stocks. He cites the 10 S&P 500 stocks with the lowest volatility over the last three years.
Topping the list is industrial gas giant Praxair, followed by insurance brokerage titan Marsh & McLennan, U.S. Bancorp, the country's largest regional bank, and McDonald's.
The stocks on the list with the lowest forward price-earnings ratio are Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, conglomerate Honeywell International and Union Pacific.
The stocks with the highest dividend yields are McDonald's, PepsiCo, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp.
Meanwhile,
Bill Spetrino, editor of the Newsmax newsletter "The Dividend Machine," offered a couple stock picks to Newsmax TV —Apple and tobacco goliath Philip Morris.
Apple has soared 9.1 percent over the past three days to $119.10. "I have a buying price up to $120," Spetrino told Newsmax TV's "MidPoint" show.
As for Philip Morris, Spetrino, author of "The Great American Dividend Machine: How an Outsider Became the Undisputed Champ of Wall Street," likes its 4.96 percent dividend.
"There have been currency headwinds, but tobacco is something that is a great hedge against the dollar. Everybody wants to hedge the dollar with coal. Philip Morris will more than beat that," he said.
Related Stories:
© 2026 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.