The market was volatile at the start of August, with the US stock market as a whole being hit by economic tensions, lackluster corporate earnings, and the unwinding of global yen carry trades, prompting Wall Street to search for market corners that may be unfairly punished.

Although the S&P 500 index has recovered almost all of its losses from the 3% decline that began last week, the index is still down around 6% from its historical high after four consecutive weeks of decline.

Due to concerns over macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop, market volatility will persist, and analysts encourage investors to establish defensive positions and buy market sectors that are still suffering. "I think it's never a bad idea to rebalance your portfolio a little bit when the market pulls back and take advantage of some weakness," said Rob Conzo, the CEO and managing director of Wealth Alliance LLC.

Of course, attempting to trade in an unstable market carries risks - stocks may fall again causing future discounts, or rapidly rise and snatch away opportunities. Quincy Krosby, the chief global strategist at LPL Financial LLC, said that trading around volatility may not make sense for long-term investors. "If you have a long-term growth portfolio, you stick it out and ride the volatility," she said.

Here's where market observers see stock opportunities:

Buy

Citigroup analysts say that after being hit hard in recent weeks, semiconductors currently look attractive. The industry benchmark index has been under pressure due to macroeconomic pressures, high yield expectations, and downside risks in the auto terminal market. The PHLX semiconductor index has fallen about 20% since its July peak.

Citigroup analysts led by Christopher Danely wrote in a report on Thursday: "We remain constructive on the space as the main themes we like -- AI and memory strength -- remain intact."

Micron technology (MU.US) is Citigroup's top pick. Other companies in the sector that Citigroup rates as buys include AMD (AMD.US), Broadcom (AVGO.US), Analog Devices (ADI.US), Microchip Technology (MCHP.US), Nvidia (NVDA.US), and KLA Corp (KLAC.US).

The medical care sector usually outperforms the overall market during economic downturns due to its low correlation with economic cycles. For example, in the global economic recession of 2009, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries had steady performance and limited impact on sales and profits.

Medical care stocks are typically viewed as defensive, so investors turn to the sector when other sectors become overbought. Last month, the S&P 500 Health Care Index rose about 3%, outperforming the large-cap index, which fell more than 4%. David Harden, chief investment officer at Summit Global Investments, said, "I don't think it's over yet" when it comes to investing in healthcare stocks.

Harden also sees upside in the weight-loss drug industry. Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.US) is an example of a company whose stock has suffered a sharp decline in a sell-off. The company reported earnings that beat estimates on Thursday and raised its 2024 revenue forecast for its obesity drug sales, causing the company's stock price to surge. Harden, who holds shares in Eli Lilly, said, "The run-up is not over, there's a clear runway, and there's a lot of pent-up energy still."

Secondly, Oppenheimer in its OPCO Trifecta list suggests some outstanding industry recommendations, one of which is to buy the Russell 1000 Index Healthcare Growth Stock. More broadly, Oppenheimer believes that the recent weakness in the S&P 500 index "is a correction within an uptrend" and does not think that the stock market cycle will end with the breadth seen in trading in July.

Oppenheimer technical analysis director Ari Wald said, "While the collapse in rates and leadership suggest the stock market cycle is maturing, our work shows that a rebound should take place by yearend following seasonal setbacks. We'll be watching for quality in this round of strength to gauge our outlook for 2025."

Oppenheimer recommends buying into the bullish trend of Russell 1000 healthcare growth stocks on this pullback. The stocks on Oppenheimer's OPCO Trifecta list are mostly rated as "Outperform" and their trending work shows positive support from top-down bullish factors. In the technical analysis report, four healthcare stocks are recommended, including HCA Healthcare (HCA.US), Merit Medical Systems (MMSI.US), Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX.US), and Viking Therapeutics (VKTX.US).

Large technology stocks

In recent weeks, the technology sector and the so-called "Fabulous Seven" large-cap stocks have suffered heavy losses. Bloomberg's index tracking the group has fallen about 15% from its peak in July. The stock market crash has also dampened the group's price-to-earnings ratio, which was previously seen as too expensive by some investors. The group's current expected P/E ratio is around 28 times, which is lower than the five-year average of 30 times.

Rhys Williams, Chief Strategist of Wayve Capital Management LLC, said:"If you've been reducing positions, now is a good opportunity to increase them."

Interest rate-sensitive stocks.

Concerns about the macroeconomic background often make interest rate-sensitive stocks such as utilities, real estate investment trusts, and dividend-paying stocks more attractive to investors. Currently, the yield of the S&P 500 utilities index is slightly above 3%. Since the beginning of the year, the index has risen about 16%, outperforming the market. Oppenheimer also recommends four utility stocks, including Pentair (PNR.US), Republic Services (RSG.US), Waste Connections (WCN.US), and XPO (XPO.US) in its report.

Secondly, the real estate industry may be next. Joe Quinlan, Chief Market Strategist of Merrill Lynch and Private Bank at Bank of America, said: "As time goes on and we enter 2025, real estate may be the surprising horse, as the Fed is hinting at rate cuts and mortgage rates have fallen."

Additionally, holding (or buying) dividend-paying stocks to help balance volatile trades in a tumultuous market also makes sense. Quinlan said:"High-yielding dividends provide balance to the stock portion of your investment portfolio. In times of economic uncertainty, if you can get steady income from dividend payers, you can sleep better at night."

In 2023, the company's overall sales volume of 18,000 kiloliters, +28.10% year-on-year, significant growth. Product structure, 10-30 billion yuan products operating income of 401/1288/60 million yuan respectively.