The Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes to fight the multi-decade high inflation raise concerns over a potential recession. Though impressive corporate profits restored investors’ confidence to some extent, a cooling job market and a modest decline in industrial production raise concerns. For the week ended July 16, initial jobless claims came in at 251,000, up 7,000 from the week before.
Since several factors indicate a potential economic slowdown and the market may remain under tremendous pressure in the upcoming months, it could be wise to invest in stocks that are relatively stable compared to the border market and pay dividends.
