4 of the Safest Stocks to Buy If the U.S. Dips Into a Recession

There are no two ways about it: This has been a trying year for both new and tenured investors. Since hitting their respective all-time closing highs, the 126-year-old Dow Jones Industrial Average, benchmark S&P 500, and growth-focused Nasdaq Composite have respectively fallen by as much as 19%, 24%, and 34%. This means the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are officially in the grip of a bear market.

To make matters worse, there's the growing likelihood that the U.S. could enter a recession. First-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) in the U.S. shrank by a surprising 1.5%, and the latest forecast from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta calls for 0% GDP growth in the second quarter. With the Fed entering a period of aggressive monetary tightening amid historically high inflation, there's the real possibility the stock market could head lower.

But there are two sides to this coin.

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Source Fool.com