The market rally that started in late March 2020 has ended with a thud, and traders on Wall Street and Main Street alike are shifting towards a extra defensive strategy. On Friday, the S & P 500 briefly traded greater than 20% beneath its file excessive , earlier than closing flat thanks to a late-day rally. For some market consultants, that may qualify as a bear market, whereas others will not make the decision till the index closes at that degree. Whether it’s an official bear market or not, the promoting has definitely felt relentless in latest weeks. “We joke it’s a bear market when they sell our stocks, but in bear markets they sell everyone’s stocks. Last week had that look, as did Wednesday this week,” Frank Gretz of Wellington Shields stated in a word to purchasers on Friday. While it may be tough to discover massive winners in periods like this, there are some methods to assist restrict your losses and possibly grind out some small features. Recession sectors Bear markets are sometimes accompanied by an financial recession, and there may be rising concern amongst Wall Street professionals and economists that the U.S. may very well be headed that route. Goldman Sachs chief U.S. fairness strategist David Kostin warned this week {that a} recession would seemingly imply a considerably deeper pullback to the S & P 500, presumably to round 3,360 . Even although many consultants do not anticipate a recession till 2023, the market may have already began to worth that in. According to Goldman, utilities, vitality, client staples and well being care are outperforming sectors within the 12 months prior to recessions. However, as soon as the financial system suggestions into recession, that management narrows to staples and well being care, Kostin wrote. Of course, there’s a probability that the U.S. financial system doesn’t fall into recession, however does see continued excessive inflation. In that case, vitality and supplies shares may prolong their keep among the many outperformers , in accordance to Bank of America. Fortress shares When shares with stable high quality scores in these defensive sectors, wholesome dividend yields emerge as a theme. In a time the place inflation is excessive and inventory valuations are unstable, traders have a tendency to drift towards the safety of normal payouts. With that in thoughts, CNBC Pro regarded for shares which have held up properly in latest bear markets and additionally sport a 2% dividend yield. The record contains a number of client staples shares comparable to Clorox and Campbell Soup , in addition to a well being care title in Gilead Sciences . A have a look at ETFs which have outperformed this yr additionally reveals some of the advantages of earnings shares. The Invesco S & P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD) , for instance, is barely constructive yr to date. Some of its prime holdings embody Kraft Heinz and Verizon , in addition to vitality firms like Chevron . Cheap names Given the breadth of the sell-off, there may very well be firms whose valuations have fallen to unsustainably low ranges, even within the occasion of an financial slowdown. CNBC Pro regarded for shares within the S & P 500 which can be buying and selling properly beneath their common price-to-earnings ranges , together with massive names likes Disney and Advanced Micro Devices . And Wall Street analysts are beginning to stick up for some tech shares once more, even after massive drawdowns. On Friday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote that Apple is ” a compelling name to own and ride out the market storm ” and that the smartphone-maker’s slowdown in China wouldn’t be as unhealthy as some worry. Meanwhile, JPMorgan’s Mark Murphy wrote that Salesforce is ” too cheap to pass up ” although there are some indicators that enterprise software program may see slowing development