Here are the stocks to buy — and avoid — to protect your portfolio against oil and yield shocks

Barbara Kollmeyer

Tue, May 19, 2026 at 9:44 AM EDT 5 min read

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.

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“The broad stock market’s rally from the 3/30 low has been impressive, decisively setting fresh records on momentum rarely seen since the Bull
supercycle 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.

Read: Investors are all-in on stocks, and a June swoon could be next, BofA says

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.