Us inflation rose to 9.1 per cent in June, a 40-year high, reinforcing expectations that the Fed would raise interest rates by another 75 basis points. The three major indexes of US stocks opened lower, with the Dow down 1.17%, the Nasdaq down 1.85% and the S & P 500 down 1.41%. Large-scale technology stocks fell, with Tesla, Inc. down more than 3%, Apple Inc, Amazon.Com Inc, Alphabet Inc-CL C and Netflix Inc down more than 2%.

Investors are re-examining the shares of dividend-paying companies, hoping to make their portfolios more valuable in the face of soaring inflation and a sharp fall in asset prices.

Dividend-paying stocks were often ignored before inflation soared, but dividend-paying stocks have become more attractive this year, mainly because the Fed's aggressive policies and inflation concerns have weighed on the stock and bond markets.

$Bank of America Corporation (BAC.US) $和$Goldman Sachs Group (GS.US) $It is one of the banks that recently recommended dividend-paying stocks. The data show that all but one week of net inflows into ProShares securities Dividend Aristocrat ETF have been positive this year. It is understood that the ETF invests in companies that have increased their dividends every year for at least 25 years. The fund is down 11.9% so far this year, while the s & p 500 is down 19.3%.

John Mowrey, chief investment officer of NFJ investment Group, said: "We need to look at more stable companies whose cash dividends are increasing to protect against share price volatility and high inflation."

Supporters of dividend stocks say dividend income helps cushion the impact of a fall in the stock market on portfolios. At the same time, it seems that investing in companies with rising dividends may be a more stable source of income than investing in bonds, whose coupons are fixed and may be eroded by rising inflation.

Overall, stocks in the S & P Dow Jones Indices are expected to record quarterly dividends again in the third quarter, in part because of an increase in dividends from energy companies, according to Sipp Dow Jones Indices.

Over the past decade, dividend-paying stocks have generally been seen as a less conspicuous corner of the stock market, as investors tend to prefer large technology stocks in the face of low inflation, the Fed's relatively moderate monetary policy and relatively stable economic growth.

At the same time, the decades-long bond bull market boosted fixed income investors and boosted total returns, with Treasury yields falling to record lows in 2020. However, the bond market has also been depressed in an environment of high inflation and tighter monetary policy.

It is understood that the s & p 500 had its worst first-half performance since 1970, while Vanguard Total bond Index fund, a measure of bond market performance, is down 10.3% so far this year and is on track to be the worst year in history.

Bank of America Corporation's strategist wrote earlier this month that as "cash becomes more valuable in the context of the Fed's interest rate hike, we expect the dividend yield-focused investment strategy to continue to win in the second half of this year".

Investors are waiting to see the US consumer price index released on Wednesday, a month after data showed prices were rising at their fastest pace in more than 40 years, prompting the Fed to raise interest rates sharply and depress the stock market.

Mowrey said NJF Group recently increased its holdings of stocks that will continue to pay dividends. Including semiconductor companies.$Microcore Technology (MCHP.US) $And real estate investment trust companies specializing in biotechnology$Alexander Real Estate (ARE.US) $。

However, not all investors believe that dividends are the best source of income. Strategists at Blackstone Group Inc, the world's largest asset manager, said at a webinar on Monday that they would focus on short-term and investment-grade credit assets in the second half of this year, given the rising likelihood of a recession. The company will also reduce its holdings of developed-market stocks, in part because of concerns that current prices do not take into account the possibility of a further recession.

With the inclusion$Delta Airlines (DAL.US) $和$JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.US) $Including a number of companies announced results this week, U. S. stocks in the new quarter earnings season officially kicked off. However, with little end to volatility in the market, some investors are looking for stock dividends to help stabilize returns on their portfolios. It is understood that the overall dividend yield of the S & P 500 index is 1.52%, while some companies famous for paying dividends, such as materials companies,$Amcor (AMCR.US) $The dividend yield is 3.81%, while the yield on 10-year treasury bonds is 2.90%.

Michael Clarfeld, the investment manager of ClearBridge Investments, chose to increase his holdings.Vanguard Natural Resources (PXD.US) $Wait for the company's stock. "in a world of high inflation, dividends are reliable returns," he said.