The broad market may be up a bit for the past few weeks. The bigger trend, however, remains bearish. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is still down 17% from January's high, and the rebound effort since mid-October is inconsistent at best. Indeed, a handful of the S&P 500's stocks -- including former favorites like Tesla and Meta Platforms -- are suffering their worst-ever annual performances.

Some stocks are defying this headwind, though. They're doing so firmly enough and persistently enough, in fact, they merit consideration as potential purchases right now. Here's a closer look at the top three of these proven prospects.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. But consumers are increasingly doing the things they were regularly doing prior to the coronavirus contagion, like shopping, seeing a movie, or traveling for leisure. Data from the United States' Transportation Safety Administration indicates domestic air travel is essentially back to its pre-pandemic levels. While worldwide air traffic isn't quite fully restored, the International Air Transport Association estimates it's now roughly three-quarters of what it was, and en route to a full recovery within the next couple of years.

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Source Fool.com