--- title: "Investors are unprotected against oil and yield shocks. Here are the stocks to buy and avoid." type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/286900514.md" description: "Evercore warns investors of potential risks from rising oil prices and bond yields, suggesting a shift towards 'low-leverage leaders' like Monster Beverage for protection. The S&P 500 faces pressure as concerns grow over inflation and market stability. With investor protection decreasing, Evercore advises caution on defensive stocks and highlights the importance of low-debt companies in navigating upcoming market challenges." datetime: "2026-05-19T11:04:23.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/286900514.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286900514.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/286900514.md) --- # Investors are unprotected against oil and yield shocks. Here are the stocks to buy and avoid. By Barbara Kollmeyer Evercore says 'low leverage leaders' are key Monster Beverage is one "low-leverage" leader that could offer a shelter for investors in a possibly looming bond and oil storm, says Evercore. Worries around higher bond yields and inflation have taken a recent toll on the S&P 500, which could be headed for a third-straight losing session on Tuesday. While not a worrying streak yet, concerns are rising. Barclays, for example, has warned that the massive flood of money rushing into stocks is at risk of rushing out just as fast. Meanwhile, our call of the day from Evercore flags clear threats from rising oil prices and bond yields, warning investors are entering this potentially bumpy period with less protection. "The broad stock market's rally from the 3/30 low has been impressive, decisively setting fresh records on momentum rarely seen since the Bullsupercycle began in 1982," said an Evercore ISI team led by senior managing director Julian Emanuel. And they see "longer-term upside," given that even as the market slid in March, defensive stocks were underperformers meaning investors were taking that pullback in stride. April's strong bounce also compares to similar rallies in history that were followed by more gains. However, "rising oil and yields pose near-term speed bumps," said Evercore, whose founder Roger Altman warned a day earlier that the oil market was reaching a "tipping point" that could send prices to $150 a barrel, and shock the economy. Emanuel and his colleagues said risks for stocks are building as long as WTI crude remains above $100 a barrel and the 10-year yield above 4.5%. They see particular risks for consumers and the economy if oil prices do not ease by the July 4th holiday. What's particularly dangerous now is the lack of protection for investors. In March, investors had bought protection through stock-index put options - the right to sell at a given price and given date. So that protection against a slump kept them from dumping stocks in a panic and subsequent rewinding of that protection provided fuel for the rally in April. With investor protection a bit lower, Evercore said they're now recommeding "tapping the brakes" on low defensive stocks - such as strongly performing tech names. Instead, they are keeping a longstanding tilt to low-leverage stocks, which don't carry high debt that will create a worry down the road when rates rise. The latter has seen mostly consistent "all-weather outperformance" throughout market ups and downs of this year. Low-leverage stocks also offer "exposure to a potential rerun of dotcom era leadership," as that factor was a leading performer into the dotcom peak as smarter investors started to buy companies that had less-risky balance sheets. Evercore said it has refreshed its screens to look for potential outperformers among low-leverage stocks in the top quintile of the Russell 3000 RUA, based also on sales and earnings per share revisions and companies with $500 million-plus market capitalization. They also scanned for similar-sized companies with heavier debt and worse revisions in the Russell 3000. Here are some of the "low leverage leaders" they prefer: Source: Factset, Bloomberg, Evercore ISI Research And here are some "low-leverage laggards" they've flagged: Source: Factset, Bloomberg, Evercore ISI Research The markets U.S. stock futures (ES00) (YM00) (NQ00) are dropping, as the 10-year Treasury yield BX:TMUBMUSD10Y creeps up to 4.609%. Brent crude (BRN00) is down nearly 2%. The buzz Home Depot (HD) kept its full-year outlook intact and shares are rising. Alphabet (GOOGL) and Blackstone (BX) are teaming up to create an AI cloud company, with $5 billion in capital from the latter. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he cancelled a planned Tuesday strike on Iran at the request of Gulf allies, to allow "serious negotiations" on a deal time to work. Pending-home sales for April are due at 10 a.m. Ahead of that Fed Governor Christopher Waller is speaking at 8 a.m. Best of the web Trump's IRS settlement features a $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund for allies. Here's who may get the money. The mysterious crypto judges who settle polymarket disputes Ebola raged for weeks in Congo before anyone raised the alarm The chart Bank of America's May global fund manager survey showed a record jump in equity allocation and a sharp drop in cash levels, driven by earnings optimism and expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. Note, pressure has been building as of late on the Fed to shift to a hiking stance, given rising inflation worries around oil prices. BofA warned that given almost all the bears are now back into the stock market, early June could be "ripe for profit taking." Top tickers These were the top-searched tickers on MarketWatch as of 6 a.m.: Random reads Red card, consolation pizza for USA soccer fans. The Mounties get their hot-dog-stealing fox. Norweigian schoolboy unearths 1,300 year-old pre-Viking sword. Beyond the headlines MarketWatch Picks: This is the most underrated retirement savings move, says RBC Wealth Management's head of retirement solutions \-Barbara Kollmeyer This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. 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