Philip Morris International rose more than 3% today, China Life Insurance also saw a significant increase, and the 2x Long UnitedHealth ETF surged — three directions that simultaneously strengthened under high market volatility.
Among them, both Philip Morris International and UnitedHealth Group have underlying businesses characterized by high dividends and counter-cyclical operations. After the VIX surged above 30, capital would prioritize shifting to assets with stable cash flow. The appeal of such assets comes from relativity rather than absoluteness. The logic behind China Life Insurance's rise is different; it's more about the pro-cyclical recovery of Hong Kong-listed insurance stocks. This does not constitute the same narrative as the defensive logic in U.S. stocks and should not be conflated.
If market volatility subsides, the excess returns of such defensive assets typically revert to the mean quickly.
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