Defensive strategies to protect your portfolio and profit from this roller coaster market

Published Sat, May 7 20227:39 AM EDT

The past week's market action was confusing and scary for many investors, leaving them scrambling to figure out how the can protect their portfolios and profit from the volatility. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied more than 900 points — its biggest one-day gain since late 2020 — after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that the central bank wasn't considering rate hikes of 75 basis points. That rally evaporated Thursday, however, with the Dow plunging more than 1,000 points as traders reassessed the Fed's rate hike trajectory. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also saw wild swings last week. Throughout last week, CNBC Pro highlighted strategies to play this market. Bank of America's favorite group Bank of America strategists pointed health care recently as its favorite group of stocks to ride out this market volatility. The firm said health care is "well-positioned" to weather this turmoil, adding that stocks in the sector offer "growth, defense and yield" at a reasonable price." Take a look below at some of Bank of America's favorite health-care stocks: Read the full story here . ETFs doing well despite market turmoil On Thursday, CNBC Pro used Morningstar's database to find which exchange traded funds are outperforming this year, even as the broader market struggled. The results yielded several dividend ETFs, including the WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend Fund (DHS) and the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL) . The Pacer U.S. Cash Cows 100 ETF (COWZ) also made the list. Click here to read the full story and see the full list of funds. Citi's ETFs for recession protection With the Federal Reserve raising rates and inflation at its hottest levels in decades, concern over a potential recession has increased. Because of this, strategists at Citi highlighted several ETFs that could protect investor portfolios in the event of a marked economic slowdown. Among the ETFs on Citi's list are the iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor fund (QUAL) and the FlexShares U.S. Quality Low Volatility ETF (QLV) . Check out the full list below: Read the full story here . Stable funds On Friday, CNBC Pro screened for low-volatility funds that could offer some stability in an unstable market. The five funds highlighted are beating the S & P 500, with one of them up more than 3% over the past 12 months. Read the full story here . What the pros are doing Throughout the week, CNBC spoke with several high-profile investors to get their take on the market action and how they're navigating these choppy waters. On Tuesday, billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones advised investors prioritize capital preservation given how tough the current environment is. Later in the week, DoubleLine's Jeffrey Gundlach said he was overweight commodities and has previously recommended shorting cyclical stocks and buying defensive names. Read the full story here .

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on April 27, 2022 in New York City.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

The past week's market action was confusing and scary for many investors, leaving them scrambling to figure out how the can protect their portfolios and profit from the volatility.