Not every sector is getting pummeled by the Trump tariff rout that is currently enveloping the broader markets.

Consumer staples — from companies that sell soda to those offering healthcare services and energy — continue to attract their fair share of inflows as traders seek out businesses less tied to economic cyclicality. Case in point in Monday's highly volatile trading session.

Shares of Coca-Cola (KO) are up 2% on the session, while rival PepsiCo (PEP) is up 3%. Procter & Gamble (PG) shares are up 1.2%. The iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) is up slightly, powered by gains in top holdings Merck (MRK) and Amgen (AMGN).

The IYH has tacked on 1.2% in March. The three aforementioned stocks have all notched gains so far in March, compared to a 3.1% drop for the S&P 500.

Watch: Gap CEO is monitoring tariffs every hour

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) — comprised of key US utilities like Duke Energy (DUK) and Constellation Energy (CEG) — is up about 1%. It's relatively unchanged in March, outperforming the S&P 500.

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Health Care (XLV), Utilities (XLU), and Consumer Staples (XLP) are some of the best-performing sectors of the S&P 500 this year.

The shift to staples has been dramatic enough to push the ratio of consumer staples stocks to consumer discretionary stock from a multiyear low to a multi-month high, according to new data from Sundial Capital Research.

"On a relative basis, staples are more defensive, and portfolio managers live in a relative world. And as much as tariff concerns are dominating, the market is growing increasingly concerned about an economic slowdown. So traders are going back to the traditional playbook, irrespective of tariffs, toward staples, in which products will still need to be bought even if the economy slows," Truist co-chief investment officer Keith Lerner told me.

Meantime, the broader market continues to take it on the chin.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) plunged more than 600 points in afternoon trading Monday as traders grew antsy on the economic growth outlook with Trump tariffs lurking. Trump not ruling out a recession in a Sunday Fox News interview hasn't helped the increasingly bearish sentiment.

The Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) finished below its closely watched 200-day moving average last week for the first time in nearly two years, per data from Creative Planning chief market strategist Charlie Bilello. The 200-day moving average is a technical measure of longer-term sentiment on an index or stock.

It represented the end of the second-longest uptrend in history for the Nasdaq 100 at 497 days. During this stretch, the Nasdaq 100 notched a 73% return.

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The Dow, Nasdaq Composite, and S&P 500 (^GSPC) are all lower on the year. The Nasdaq has been the worst performer with a nearly 10% drop.

"Anything is possible in Trump World. We can't rule out the possibility that a bear market started on Feb. 20, the day after the S&P 500 rose to a record high. It could be like the 'flash crashes' that occurred during 1962 and 1987. It could happen quickly and reverse just as quickly. So the sell-off could provide buying opportunities, especially in overvalued names that are now less so," said longtime market watcher Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research.

Listen: Why this toy CEO is worried about tariffs

BCA Research's veteran strategist Peter Berezin said in a new piece of research that he sees a 75% chance of a recession within the next three months. Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius has raised his US recession probability to 20% from 15%.

"In this administration, there's a different focus, I think, on the tariff discussion where the administration is looking at trade imbalances and trying to use tariffs against many different companies in a more universal fashion. And so that has created, at least in the short term, a lot more uncertainty," Newell Brands (NWL) CEO Chris Peterson told me on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email [email protected].

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