Credit Suisse (CS) spooked Wall Street on Wednesday after the Swiss bank’s largest backer said it wouldn’t provide more financial support, with the Dow falling more than 700 points at its low. The sell-off, however, made many of the Club’s holdings look more attractive, as investors got defensive and sprinted to the perceived safety of U.S. government bonds and utilities, the second best-performing S & P 500 sector Wednesday. On market days like this, one of Jim Cramer’s oft-repeated investment approaches come to mind: What do Credit Suisse’s problems — in this case, its largest backer saying it’s unable to provide any more funding — have to do with the outlook for TJX Companies (TJX)? Does it make sense for shares of the off-price retailer to fall more than 1% Wednesday? We don’t think it does, motivating us to add to our position early in Wednesday’s session . While U.S. retail sales fell month over month in February after a strong January, the year-over-year data in categories important to TJX looked solid. The parent company of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls should continue to appeal to inflation-weary shoppers looking for bargains and gain market share from full-price retail stores. Another Club stock with defensive characteristics is Procter & Gamble (PG). The consumer products giant falls into the category of “bond equivalents with upside,” according to Jim. It offers investors a relatively safe place to hide out and collect dividend payments, with the potential for its stock price to appreciate. Lower input costs as key commodities ease should help P & G’s earnings, too. PG 1Y mountain Procter & Gamble (PG) stock performance over the past year. Indeed, P & G was one of the Club’s best-performing stocks holding up in Wednesday’s ugly tape — up 1.4%, to nearly $142 per share. Health care also fits the bill. Credit Suisse’s struggles have little do with the earnings outlook for Club holdings Eli Lilly (LLY), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Humana (HUM). The three companies have very little economic sensitivity, and our overarching reasons for owning them haven’t changed: Eli Lilly for its innovative drug pipeline, J & J for its sterling balance sheet and upcoming breakup and Humana for the growth fueled by its retooled Medicare Advantage offering. Plus, their stocks have largely been out of favor in 2023, especially the drugmakers in Eli Lilly and J & J; shares of both companies are down more than 10% year to date. All three of our health-care stocks were in the green Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is another investment opportunity we like here. Cybersecurity spending has proven resilient — after all, enterprises’ need to protect against bad actors doesn’t vanish because economic uncertainty is elevated. The Club boosted its position in Palo Alto on Monday, and will continue to opportunistically do so on future weakness. The stock, added to our portfolio in February, fell 0.3% on Wednesday, to under $184 per share. META 1Y mountain…
Read More: Unfairly swept up in Wednesday’s sell-off, these stocks look