Reuters Summit-BofA strategist favors defensive stocks?|?Reuters 

Reuters Summit-BofA strategist favors defensive stocks?|?Reuters

(For other news from the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit. June 13 (Reuters) - With inflation worries pressuring U.S. equities. investors may find a safe haven in healthcare. consumer staples and financial stocks. Banc of America Securities' chief investment strategist said on Tuesday.
Tom McManus told the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit in New York that he has been raising his allocation in defensive stocks. which tend to perform better in periods of uncertainty.
"That has underscored our desire to add defensive stocks -- the bonds of the stock market -- steady companies with strong earnings and geographic diversification. who declined to identify individual stocks.
The recent sell-off in equities has seen investors shifting from energy. and precious and base metals stocks. the key drivers of the stock market as commodity prices hit record highs.
An S&P index of health-care stocks <.GSPA> is down about 1.5 percent while the broad Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> index is down 7.6 percent since early May. just before the recent routing of stocks began.
Economic data has investors fretting over the prospect of further increases in interest rates. Until May. the market was awash with talk of a likely pause in rate hikes. but that has dissipated as U.S. price pressures mount.
Even though stocks have fallen sharply in recent weeks and Wall Street thinks the stock market is in a funk. individual investors who focus on picking stocks for the long-term are still poised for growth.





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