These stocks should let you 'sleep at night' during the market turmoil, Bank of America says

Published Thu, May 12 20222:46 PM EDTUpdated Thu, May 12 20227:28 PM EDT

As the market churns, Bank of America found steady stocks for investors to ride out market volatility. Stocks have struggled of late as investors grapple with persistent inflation, the Federal Reserve's rate-hiking cycle , recession risks, the war in Ukraine and global Covid outbreaks. The S & P 500 is down more than 18% this year. Thursday's trading session was the latest example of the turmoil in markets. Stocks attempted a comeback Thursday morning, but soon gave up gains. Given the rocky trading in stocks, Bank of America identified names that it says can hep investors "sleep at night." "Navigating inflection points in major macro trends is no easy task," Bank of America's Savita Subramanian said in a note Tuesday. "But despite what feels like an unpredictable market, stocks have behaved somewhat predictably based on macro sensitivity." Bank of America identified top, high-quality defensive stocks. The firm looked at how shares trade relative to gross domestic product, discovering stocks that are not leveraged to the economic cycle. Analysts also identified quality names as those with solid return on equity, a strong balance sheet and less debt. Take a look at 10 names on the list: Many stocks on Bank of America's list belong to sectors typically thought of as defensive, such as consumer staples and health care. UnitedHealth Group is one name making the list. The health care stock has an A+ rating in the S & P Quality Rank, Bank of America noted. Dollar General also makes the cut. Many analysts on Wall Street believe value retailers like Dollar General could continue to outperform as consumers focus on ways to cut their spending due to high inflation. Dollar General is ranked A in S & P Quality. General Mills also has an A-rating for quality and appears on Bank of America's list. The consumer staples stock hit an all-time high on Tuesday and is beating the market this year, up more than 6%. Other "sleep at night" stocks include Lowe's , Chipotle and Exxon Mobil .

UnitedHealth Group signage is displayed on a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

As the market churns, Bank of America found steady stocks for investors to ride out market volatility.