The S&P 500 is one of the most widely used benchmarks, comprising 500 of the largest publicly traded American companies from various industries. Despite concerns about a potential economic downturn, the S&P 500 has shown gains of 7.8% year-to-date and 15.5% over the past six months.
Despite the market volatility, I think investors could consider investing in quality dividend-paying S&P 500 stocks Bilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) and Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC), which have gained 34.3% and 50% over the past year.
