The Cboe Volatility Index – frequently referred to by its ticker symbol, "the VIX" — is a real-time measure of implied volatility on the benchmark S&P 500 Index (SPX). Not only is the VIX used as a quick gauge of short-term investor sentiment, it's also the basis of many active investing strategies, from portfolio hedging to directional speculation.

First introduced by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) in 1993, the initial version of the VIX reflected a rolling 30-day calculation of at-the-money implied volatility (IV) on S&P 100 Index (OEX) options. This calculation is no longer widely used or tracked, but the "old VIX" is still available under the ticker symbol VXO.

The current version of the VIX, which has been in popular use since 2003, offers a more comprehensive look at options IV by considering a range of near-the-money call and put strikes on the broader S&P 500.

Specifically, intraday VIX quotes are calculated from a basket of short-term SPX options that are weighted to maintain a constant average maturity of 30 days.

What does the VIX tell us?

Generally speaking, implied volatility is expected to rise during times of heightened fear or uncertainty regarding the short-term direction of the market, whereas lower IV is correlated with investor complacency and positive price action for equities.

Since the VIX is a fairly straightforward measure of implied volatility on one of the most widely tracked U.S. equity benchmarks, a relatively higher VIX is said to indicate elevated fear among investors, while a relatively lower VIX suggests greater calm among market participants.

As such, many analysts and market watchers track the VIX as a contemporaneous indicator of investor sentiment, and it's often referred to casually as the "fear gauge."

How can I trade the VIX?

The real-time VIX values quoted in the financial media (aka the "spot" or "cash" VIX) should be regarded as statistics. The reality is the VIX has no publicly listed shares and cannot be traded directly in the same way as a company's stock.

That said, there are plenty of VIX derivatives and VIX-linked exchange-traded products available for those looking to add long or short volatility exposure to their portfolios.

Given the differing factors driving the day-to-day action in each index, the VIX and the SPX are generally expected to maintain an inverse correlation with one another. This historical relationship, alongside the well-publicized VIX highs that accompanied stock market crashes in 2008 and 2020, has driven investor interest in long VIX exposure as a "hedge" of sorts to offset a portfolio that's top-heavy on large-cap equities.

The Cboe lists options contracts that derive their value from short-term VIX futures, and call options on VIX can be used to hedge equity portfolios in the expectation that VIX and stocks will continue to diverge over time. VIX calls and puts can also be used to bet on directional moves in the index itself, though traders should be aware of the unique expiry and settlement rules pertaining to VIX options.

In addition to VIX options, various VIX-based exchange-traded products (ETPs) exist that track the price action of the index itself and/or some combination of its futures — whether directly, inversely or in a leveraged manner. Some of the more popular and active of these include the iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (VXX), the ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (UVXY) and the Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY).

That said, many VIX-based products may be suboptimal for the goals of casual investors due to structural concerns with the roll of underlying futures contracts, increased risk associated with leveraged and inverse ETPs, and more.

As with any investing vehicles, traders should carefully consider the stated goals, suggested holding periods and liquidity of these instruments.

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Investors can find plenty to stress about as voters try to pick congressional candidates they believe will best help the nation navigate through inflation, labor shortages, a possible recession, international conflicts and divisive social issues. Here's one bit of reassurance: If history is any guide, at least you don't have to worry too much about the election's impact on your stock portfolio.

Since 1939, no matter which party has gained control of Congress, the stock market has risen in the year following a midterm election, according to a US Bank analysis. And though the market's post-midterm performance has varied widely over the years, on average, the outperformance in the modern era has been significant – especially in the first six months after election day. For the six months starting Nov. 1 of each midterm election year going back to 1962, the S&P 500 Index has returned a far-above-average 15%, US Bank found. The same periods during non-midterm years saw returns averaging just 4%.

Of course, past performance is no guarantee of anything. But many veteran stock analysts say that the midterm effect is a much stronger and more reliable trend than other, better-known stock market patterns, such as the "Santa Claus rallies" that tend to run from late December through early January, or rules of thumb including "Sell in May and go away" that single out seasonally strong periods. 

"The midterm effect is one of most surprising and compelling patterns I have ever seen," says Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist for LPL Financial. "It is very powerful because we go from an environment of political uncertainty to certainty."

Investors certainly appear to be uncertain during this campaign period. In August, the so-called fear index (the Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, or VIX, which reflects investors' expectations of stock market volatility over the next month) was hovering more than 50% above the levels seen during the same periods prior to the midterm elections in 2014 and 2018. 

A Surfeit of Uncertainty

Another historical rule of thumb says that the president's party tends to lose seats in Congress in midterm elections: Since 1974, the president's party has lost an average of 23 seats in the House of Representatives, according to analytics and advisory firm Gallup, so history suggests a high likelihood that Republicans will flip at least the five seats needed to win a majority in the House.

One possible reason for elevated uncertainty this year: Many poll watchers say that this midterm is hard to predict because of a rapidly changing economy, controversies over Supreme Court decisions and investigations into former President Donald Trump. 

Democrats have outperformed expectations – including winning seats in two Republican-leaning districts – in the five special elections that have taken place since the Supreme Court upheld the right of states to ban abortion, according to polling website FiveThirtyEight. As things stood in early September, the oddsmakers said the most likely election result would be a split Congress – probably a Republican House and Democratic Senate. 

The good news is that over the past 60 years, investors have seen post-midterm gains under any political configuration. According to the US Bank data, since 1962, the stock market has gained 14% in the year after midterms that resulted in a Democratic president facing a split or Republican Congress. That's below the 17% gain after elections that resulted in full Democratic control, but beats the market turmoil so far in 2022.

Red or Blue Portfolio?

If the Democrats pull an upset and maintain control of Congress, watch for them to pursue incremental advances toward longtime goals such as further caps on healthcare or drug prices, additional green-energy initiatives, and a tax hike for multinational companies, says Rob Haworth, senior investment strategy director for US Bank Wealth Management.

That agenda could boost smaller, domestically focused companies and alternative-energy producers in particular. But Monica Guerra, U.S. policy strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, says the overall stock market has generally risen strongly in a fully Democratic Washington "because of a tendency to pursue initiatives structured to create tailwinds for consumer confidence [and] spending."

A divided or fully Republican Congress would cause some legislative gridlock and shift Congress's attention to issues such as protecting U.S. trade, supporting domestic technology producers and cracking down on Chinese stocks listed on the U.S. markets, says Edward Mills, Washington policy analyst for Raymond James & Associates. "Tensions between the U.S. and China will be accelerated if the Republicans win," he says. He also expects Republicans to try to follow up on promises to put the brakes on an increasing focus by corporations and investors on environmental, social and governance issues.

Given the uncertain political climate, as well as the growing unreliability of voter polls, it's risky to make big portfolio bets on specific sectors or types of companies that might benefit from particular outcomes of the coming election. Morgan Stanley's Guerra highlights sectors that could gain bipartisan support. She thinks both parties could come together to approve additional funding for defense, cybersecurity, energy independence and encouragement of domestic industry. That's bullish for defense contractors, makers of computer chips and green-energy companies.

But the safest bet is to stick with a broad market index, says Jędrzej Białkowski, a finance professor at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. In a recent paper examining the post-midterm returns of U.S. stocks starting in 1954, he and coauthors Warwick W. Anderson and Moritz Wagner found that the rallies have been so broad that there has been no consistent underperformance or overperformance among sectors or investing styles. "The important conclusion for investors who would like to gain on the midterm effect is to invest in the broad market, not more-selective portfolios," he says. In other words, when it comes to preparing your portfolio for this year's midterms, you don't have to choose. You can vote with your dollars for "all of the above." 

Thursday's downward momentum spilled liberally into Friday's trade, with almost the entire market working in concert to deliver a week-closing stinker.

Weighing on sentiment again were yesterday's comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that all but guarantee we'll see a 50-basis-point Fed funds rate hike following the central bank's May meeting.

"When a Fed official suggests a 50-basis-point hike, markets immediately start trying to price in 75-basis-point hikes," says Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group. "It's madness really. Most investors would be well served to ignore the machinations of the pricing craziness and wait to see what actually happens with rates."

"The Fed is prepared to inflict real economic pain on the economy to achieve its inflation goals," adds Dean Smith, chief strategist at investment technology platform FolioBeyond.

John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet, notes that the S&P 500 Index is reporting single-digit earnings growth for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2020, thanks in part to tough year-over-year comparisons, but also macro headwinds.

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"[The Fed's] hawkish stance is giving investors pause as many are left to evaluate the impact on profit margins and equity multiples moving forward," says Brian Price, head of investment management for Commonwealth Financial Network. "We're still very early into earnings season, but higher costs are already denting profit margins and there doesn't appear to be any material relief in sight."

Friday's financial-results calendar did little to improve the market's earnings situation.

Gap (GPS, -18.0%) crumbled after reporting a 2-cent-per-share quarterly adjusted loss compared to a 67-cent profit the year prior; it also hacked at its current-quarter sales estimates and announced that Old Navy CEO Nancy Green would be stepping down. Verizon (VZ, -5.6%) beat profit expectations but said full-year earnings would come in at the bottom of its predicted range, which sits below analysts' views.

The major indexes all bled plenty. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-2.8% to 33,811) saw all of its 30 components finish in the red. The same went for 489 of the stocks in the S&P 500 (-2.8% to 4,271). The broader Nasdaq Composite finished 2.6% lower to 12,839, including tumbles for all but four of the Nasdaq-100's components. (The Nasdaq-100 is made up of the 100 largest non-financial components of the Nasdaq Composite.)

"[The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX] seems to express widespread fear that the U.S. economy might teeter into a recession," says Michael Oyster, chief investment officer for asset-management firm Options Solutions. "Options investors are confronting the reality that the Fed may have to raise rates even more aggressively than what was expected six months ago."

Other news in the stock market today:

• The small-cap Russell 2000 was hardly immune from Friday's woes, dropping 2.6% to 1,940.
• U.S. crude oil futures fell 1.7% to settle at $102.07 per barrel.
• Gold futures retreated 0.7% to finish at $1,934.30 an ounce.
• Bitcoin swung back below $40k, retreating 4.1% to $39,499.01. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.
• HCA Healthcare (HCA) stock plummeted 21.8% after the Tennessee-based hospital operator lowered its full-year guidance due to higher labor costs. For 2022, HCA now expects earnings per share of $16.40 to $17.60 – down from its previous forecast for earnings of $18.40 per share to $19.20 per share – and revenue of $59.5 billion to $61.5 billion, $500 million lower than its prior guidance. The negative earnings reaction dragged on a number of healthcare stocks, including Universal Health Services (UHS, -14.0%), Tenet Healthcare (THC, -15.7%) and Community Health Systems (CYH, -17.9%).
• Kimberly-Clark (KMB) was a rare splash of green in today's market, with the consumer staples stock jumping 8.1% after earnings. In its first quarter, KMB reported adjusted earnings of $1.35 per share on $5.1 billion in revenue – more than analysts were expecting. The maker of Cottonelle toilet paper also raised its full-year revenue and organic sales growth forecasts. Still, CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram maintained a Sell rating on the stock. KMB is "unfavorably positioned versus some of its more diversified peers in navigating through this historic inflationary cycle," the analyst wrote in a note.

Investing Green on Earth Day

April 22 marks the 53rd birthday of Earth Day, which was created to highlight the need for environmental protections. And now, perhaps more than ever, Wall Street is getting involved in these efforts through the promotion of investments boasting strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.

Indeed, even this year's Earth Day theme – "Invest in Our Planet" – reflects the growing corporate and investing community's involvement in maintaining our green-and-blue space marble.

"While from the top down, governments have been grappling with the commitments needed for climate change solutions, from the bottom up, the private sector's innovation and investment have been accelerating needed advances," says Jason Hoody, head of investment manager research and sustainable investing research for LPL Financial. "Sustainable investing has the possibility of leaving a double legacy: There is the legacy of potential returns that every investor seeks, but there is also a legacy of stewardship by meeting current needs without overburdening the environment or future generations."

That double legacy is, of course, the goal: Investors want to do right, but they also want to do well. Which is why ESG investors must thread a tight needle in targeting opportunities that are both good stewards of the world and community around them, as well as attractive investment targets.

To mark 2022's Earth Day, we've looked at five ESG picks that we think fit the bill – each underlying company has made great strides in several environmental areas, and each stock boasts high-quality fundamentals.

Wall Street seemed to be en route to another day of losses, but a strong jobless-claims report helped stocks gain some momentum ahead of the week's final session.

The Labor Department on Thursday said that for the week ended April 2, just 166,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits – the lowest number since November 1968 (though also what they were for the week ended March 19). It also easily flew in lower than the 200,000 claims expected.

"Initial jobless claims looked too good to be true," says Edward Moya, senior market strategist at currency data provider OANDA. "Today's impressive claims data reminds Wall Street that the labor market is 'firing on all cylinders', which should allow the Fed to continue to solely focus on inflation."

However, while the markets did manage to turn higher, it was primarily led by defensive names. Pfizer (PFE, +4.3%) and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO, +4.2%) were among the best performers in the healthcare sector (+1.9%), while Costco (COST, +4.0%) and Target (TGT, +5.7%) helped lift consumer staples stocks (+1.2%).

The end result was modest gains among the major indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.3% to 34,583, the S&P 500 improved 0.4% to 4,500 and the Nasdaq Composite eked out a marginally higher finish at 13,897.

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"We continue to see defensive trading patterns in the options market, especially at the onset of earnings season, and remain surprised that the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, remains relatively subdued," says Steven Sears, president and chief operating officer of asset-management firm Options Solutions. "If earnings reports are as stressed as many investors believe they could be amidst these extraordinary economic and risk conditions, we could see a sharp investor re-rating of risk assets."

Other news in the stock market today:

• The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.4% to 2,009.
• U.S. crude futures slipped 0.2% to $96.03 per barrel, marking their third straight loss.
• Gold futures gained 0.8% to settle at $1,937.80 an ounce.
• Bitcoin retreated 0.8% to $43,414.98. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
• Deutsche Bank analyst George Hill downgraded Rite Aid (RAD, -17.2%) to Sell from Hold and slashed his price target on the pharmacy chain to a mere dollar per share from $16. The bruising analyst note comes ahead of RAD's fourth-quarter earnings report – due out after the April 14 close – in which Hill will closely be watching the company's guidance for its next fiscal year. Why? "Because RAD needs to generate $190 million to $200 million in cash annually to cover its debt service costs, plus another $200 to $250 million to cover its store maintenance capital expenditure requirement, meaning RAD needs to generate ~$400 to $450 million in annual adjusted EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ] to continue as an operating company," Hill writes in a note. Anything below that $400 million mark and "the equity arguably has no value as the company is not in a position to generate real returns to shareholders," he adds.
• Ford Motor (F) skidded to a 2.9% loss after Barclays analyst Brian Johnson cut his rating on the automaker to Equalweight from Overweight (the equivalents of Hold and Buy, respectively). The analyst said Ford remains "vulnerable" to an ongoing global semiconductor shortage, while additional macro headwinds like commodities inflation could pressure margins. "Despite the selloff, we believe investors are still underestimating risks to the sector – and in particular to suppliers - from inflation and production pressures – as well as the impact of interest rate hikes on portfolio allocations," the analyst says.

Buffett Makes Another Big Buy

One of the day's most noteworthy gainers was printer leader HP (HPQ, +14.8%), but it had nothing to do with any economic indicators. No, HP's good fortune was a vote of confidence from none other than the Oracle of Omaha.

Last night, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a huge 11.4% stake in HPQ stock, immediately making it a dominant shareholder in the PC-and-printers name. Berkshire bought up 121 million shares worth $4.2 million, surpassing asset manager Vanguard as the top holder of HPQ.

Much of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio represents bets by one of the greatest investors of all time, so as most of our readers know, we regularly keep tabs on what Buffett is buying and selling. But he has been busier than usual of late, also taking a massive stake in oil play Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and outright buying insurer Allegheny (Y) in the past month or so alone.

Berkshire's most recent splash might leave some investors scratching their heads. But we explain why and how the HPQ stake move looks like a classic Buffett bet.

News about the conflict in Eastern Europe was contradictory as the trading week came to a close, but markets surged as Wall Street grasped for good news.

On Friday, Russian troops reportedly were closing in on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Yet on the same day, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to send a delegation to the Belarusian capital of Minsk to negotiate with Ukraine.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly also gave a nod toward a peaceful resolution, saying "China supports Russia and Ukraine to resolve issues through negotiations" after a conversation with Putin, according to state-owned CCTV.

But some of Friday's bullishness might also have come from changing expectations for Federal Reserve action this year.

"Wall Street anticipates central bank reluctance to go overly aggressive with tightening monetary policy, so they could provide a cushion for a growth hit that will stem the Russia-Ukraine developments," says Edward Moya, senior market strategist at currency data provider OANDA.

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Back on the homefront, America's core personal consumption expenditures price index showed consumer spending up 5.2% in January, according to the Commerce Department. That was slightly better than expectations for 5.1%.

"The strong consumer numbers come at a time when many economists were worried about an economy that was weaning itself of government stimulus in the latter part of 2021, and whether the consumer would be able to carry the torch in 2022," says Peter Essele, head of portfolio management for Commonwealth Financial Network.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average – led by advances in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, +5.0%), 3M (MMM, +4.7%) and Procter & Gamble (PG, +4.3%) – jumped 2.5% to 34,058, its best performance since a roughly 3% gain on Nov. 9, 2020. The S&P 500 (+2.2% to 4,384) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.6% to 13,694) also posted sizable gains, putting both indexes into positive territory for the week.

Still, the impressive market comeback of the past couple of days doesn't mean the market is out of the woods yet.

Yesterday, the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, crossed above 30 amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “VIX above 30 indicates that investors are unusually anxious about what comes next, and that they are hedging stock portfolios to protect against further declines,” say Michael Oyster and Steven Sears of asset-management firm Options Solutions. “Market fears have abated somewhat, with the CBOE VIX below 30, but as it remains near the highest 10% level of all time, the options market is hardly signaling an all-clear.”

Other news in the stock market today:

• The small-cap Russell 2000 popped 2.3% to 2,040.
• U.S. crude oil futures slumped 1.3% to finish at $91.59 per barrel, but still ended the week up 1.5%.
  Gold futures shed 2% to settle at $1,887.60 an ounce, bringing its weekly decline to 0.6%.
• Bitcoin continued clawing its way back to $40,000, rising 1.7% to $39,130.32. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
• Etsy (ETSY) stock soared 16.2% after the online marketplace reported top- and bottom-line beats in its fourth-quarter. For the three-month period, ETSY brought in earnings of $1.11 per share on $717 million. While the company did offer lower-than-expected current-quarter revenue and gross merchandise sales guidance, Chief Financial Officer Rachel Glaser said this was due to tough year-over-year pandemic-related comparisons. "ETSY is one of few names surviving the pandemic online bubble with initiatives to drive top line at core brand and the subs," says Needham analyst Anna Andreeva, who reiterated a Buy rating on the retail stock.
  Foot Locker (FL) sat out today's broad-market rally, shedding 29.8% after earnings. In its fiscal third-quarter, the athletic apparel retailer reported adjusted earnings of $1.67 per share on $2.34 billion in revenue, higher than the $1.44 per share and $2.33 billion expected by analysts. However, FL also warned that revenue will likely be down between 4% and 6% and same-store sales will contract 8% to 10% in fiscal 2022. This is due in part to the company selling less products from Nike (NKE). "In Q4 '21 Nike represented 65% of vendor spend which FL plans to reduce to 55% moving forward," says CFRA Research analyst Zachary Warring (Hold). "We do not like the positioning of FL as companies shift to direct-to-consumer and they continue to have higher exposure to malls but see limited downside as FL currently trades at 6.0x 2023 EPS and a clean balance sheet."

Where Can Opportunists Put Money to Work?

In times of market crisis, some people look for protection, while others scout out opportunities.

Rhys Williams – chief strategist at Spouting Rock Asset Management and a former journalist at the Moscow office of The Sunday Times – has a dour outlook on the geopolitical situation:

"Putin seems to have made his choice, and it looks like he has settled on regime change," Williams said, adding that in the medium-term, he's not quite sure how business gets back to usual.

But there are some market implications for investors looking to buy on this dip.

"I think Big Tech will get a bid after a significant correction, as they have a lot of cash and consumer staples-like qualities. They also don't lose much business in Russia and the Ukraine relative to overall revenues," he says. These 12 stocks represent some of our best ideas in the broader sector, though specific industries such as cybersecurity are becoming a trendy pick.

Rhys also likes higher-dividend-yielding stocks, "as perhaps this caps interest rates for a while."

You can start with this nine-pack of stocks dishing out 5% or more in annual income – though more importantly, they haven't been selected only for their large headline yields. These picks broadly feature conservative payout ratios, stronger balance sheets and business models that generate predictable cash flow, meaning their dividends aren't just generous … they're sustainable over the long haul.

Ukraine-Russia tensions wrested control of investor sentiment from the Fed in a difficult session for the broader markets, which was exacerbated by a few pieces of disappointing economic news.

On Thursday, both U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the shelling of a kindergarten in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region might be a "false-flag operation" meant to give Russia an excuse to invade the country.

"The evidence on the ground is that Russia is moving toward an imminent invasion," Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters. "This is a crucial moment."

Also sending stocks in the wrong direction were a few weak reports, led by initial unemployment claims that came in at 248,000 for the week ended Feb. 12 – well ahead of expectations for 219,000 filings and up from last week's upwardly revised 225,000.

Also Thursday, January housing starts came in shy of estimates, as did a February reading of Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity.

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"Some of January's dip in housing starts reflects especially tough winter weather. The January industrial production report released yesterday showed utilities output jumped nearly 10% from December, even after accounting for normal seasonal swings. The severe winter weather that hit much of the country in January held back housing starts," says Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. "But supply chain problems also continue to restrain housing activity; one illustration of the ongoing dysfunction in supply chains is the 25% monthly increase of softwood lumber prices in the January producer price index.

Investors skittered away from cyclical and growth sectors alike, with technology (-3.0%) and financials (-2.5%) leading the way down.

There was appetite for defense plays, however, with consumer staples (+0.8%) the day's best-performing sector.

Losses accelerated later in the day, sending the Nasdaq Composite 2.9% lower to 13,716, followed by the S&P 500 Index (-2.1% to 4,380) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.8% to 34,312).

"The S&P 500 has found some footing in recent days but the options market remains skittish," says Michael Oyster, chief investment officer for asset-management firm Options Solutions. "The CBOE Volatility (VIX), often referred to as the market's 'fear gauge' is in the top 15% of its history signaling concern among sophisticated investors. Both weekly and monthly options expire this Friday, which could further spike volatility."

Other news in the stock market today:

• The small-cap Russell 2000 gave back 2.5% to finish at 2,028.
• U.S. crude futures tanked 2% to settle at $91.76 per barrel.
• Gold futures jumped 1.6% to end at $1,902 an ounce.
• Bitcoin plunged 7.2% to $40,948.32. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
• DoorDash (DASH) jumped 10.7% after the food delivery firm posted a 34% year-over-year jump in revenue to $1.3 billion and a 35% increase in total orders to 369 million. Plus, the company's net loss narrowed from the year prior, to $155 million. "We think DASH is seeing sustained demand within the food delivery space while momentum in new verticals (convenience, grocery, and pets) (about 14% of sales) coupled with new merchants on the platform will support growth," says CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino. Still, the analyst kept a Hold rating on DASH.
• Walmart (WMT) was just one of a handful of Dow Jones stocks to finish in the green, jumping 4.0% following the discount mega-retailer's earnings report. In its fourth quarter, WMT reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.53 on $152.9 billion in revenue. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.49 per share on $151.1 billion in sales. "We expect this momentum to continue in 2022 as consumers likely become increasingly price conscious, with inflation being at a 40-year high, noting WMT's average price gap relative to the competition continues to widen versus pre-pandemic levels," says CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram (Buy). "We also believe investors are underappreciating WMT's evolving business model, including omnichannel transformation and its high-margin alternative profit streams (e.g., advertising is now over $2B in annual revenues)."

Find Opportunity in the Market Upheaval

The market is teeming with too many risks for volatility to just magically disappear. So for now, your best options are to defend against it – or use the dips as an opportunity to invest in longer-term trends on the cheap.

Among those trends on the skids is green energy, which despite generally growing long-term growth estimates has suffered of late; several popular green energy funds are off 40%-50% over the past year.

So why now?

"Inflation and economic reopening have increased fossil-fuel prices, and alternative and clean energy returns typically rise in parallel with increasing oil costs," says exchange-traded fund provider ProShares. "Clean energy was also a priority in the initial $2.2 billion White House infrastructure proposal, and policy tailwinds for increased spending remain."

If you're looking for somewhere to begin, consider this short list of 10 green energy stocks that might be down now – but are nonetheless poised to profit from an expected boom in expanded energy capacity for years to come.