How to Defeat a Sinking Market

May 1st was not a happy day for most investors. Stocks tumbled. The major averages fell a little less than 1%.

But you can find the real damage under the surface…

Small stocks and midcaps feel hard. So did transports. It was an ugly scene.

So what can you do now?

Of course, you can’t buy every single day the market’s up and sell every time it’s in the red. That’ll get you nowhere but broke.

Think practically. You’re not going to top tick the market. That’s not realistic. Instead, you should search for strength. Find out what’s beating the pants off the averages and stick with it.

Right now, the big winners are the companies that make tobacco, toothpaste and toilet paper.

While the broad market retreated yesterday, the tobacco, toothpaste and toilet paper stocks barely budged. Since the beginning of the year, consumer names have destroyed the S&P, climbing nearly 18%. These stocks are rampaging higher because investors don’t know where else to go. They want safety, so they’re bidding the boring stocks up to new heights…

I wouldn’t be surprised to see some choppy market action in the coming weeks. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to lighten up on your spec plays (like I’ve been saying for weeks now). And you can still ride the next wave higher by staying in these big consumer names that are trouncing the averages.

I know the market’s in a weird place right now. Nothing is cut-and-dry. But the trend is intact. You have to allow price to guide your decisions.

Remember, if you sold at the first whiff of potential trouble in the markets (back in February) you would have missed a major move…

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