Home Depot, CVS and Dominion Offer Value in a Dangerous Market

Stocks may have recovered somewhat from their late-summer swoon, but don’t expect the good times to last, said Margie Patel, Senior Portfolio Manager at Wells Fargo Asset Management.

Stocks may have recovered somewhat from their late-summer swoon, but don’t expect the good times to last, said Margie Patel, Senior Portfolio Manager at Wells Fargo Asset Management. 'We are going to have more chopping around,' said Patel. 'To me, the market has not convincingly hit a low so that says to me the market should go lower for at least the short term.' Patel added that a lot of investors were not participating this summer when the VIX, or so-called fear index, spiked over 40. The VIX has subsequently fallen back below 25, but the fear lingers on Wall Street in her view. She does not expect the market to attract new money until 'things look more like a bargain.' China’s currency devaluation was one of the reasons why global markets became unhinged this summer. Patel said continued erosion in the Chinese economy will be another source of worry for American investors now that the link has been established between China’s economic health and U.S. equities. Patel’s skepticism about China is keeping her out of emerging market stocks in favor of domestic stocks like Home Depot (HD), which she said benefits from the resurgence America has seen in building and the fact there is more money in consumers’ pockets. She is also bullish on Dominion Resources (D) due to its lack of foreign exposure, as well as CVS (CVS) due to the aging of America.