President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policy has the stock market on pace for a down week, but some defensive stocks could still help investors see gains in their portfolios. Stocks extended their losses on Friday from the previous session, with the S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on pace for their biggest weekly declines since September. The latest sell-off comes on the heels of a weaker-than-expected February jobs report and continued uncertainty regarding U.S. trade with Canada, Mexico and China. The week’s multi-session declines began Monday, when President Trump announced he would impose 25% tariffs on Tuesday on Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China. Against this volatility, CNBC Pro used its Stock Screener Tool – which readers can use to copy this screen or make their own – to find S & P 500 companies that can help investors better withstand the turbulence, and modeled the following criteria: Stock is higher in the past month Has a beta well below 1.0, meaning it’s less volatile than the market Dividend yield above 2% Is liked by sell-side analysts, who predict at least a 10% gain over the next 12 months Crop and ingredient company Archer-Daniels-Midland made the list, having a one-month gain of more than 5% and a dividend yield of 4.45% – the highest of all the stocks on the list. ADM 1M mountain ADM, 1-month ADM also has a beta of 0.68, and its average analyst price target implies about 15% upside for the stock from current levels, according to LSEG data. Meanwhile, insurance name Allstate floated to the top. Shares have gained nearly 3% in the past month, and itsports a dividend yield of exactly 2%. ALL 1M mountain ALL, 1-month Allstate is also far less volatile than the market as a whole, with the lowets beta on the screen at just 0.38. Analysts’ average price target call for more than 15% upside ahead, the most of the six stocks on our screen. Shares of Molson Coors earned its spot in the screen partly by paying a dividend yield of some 3.2%, with a below-market beta of 0.72. TAP 1M mountain TAP, 1-month The beer brewer has climbed more than 9% in the past month, and analysts’ average price target suggests more than 11% potential upside.
