As investors search for calm amid the volatile market, four names stand out as ways to play defense. Market volatility continued Friday , with stocks rising in late-morning trading, erasing earlier losses. Still, the major averages remained on track to post weekly losses. Bank shares sank in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank 's woes. Nonfarm payrolls, meanwhile, rose more than expected .
mountain Microsoft's year-to-date performance Shares of Microsoft are up about 5% this year. Equinix , a real estate investment trust, has the lowest beta of the group at 0.6. Yet it has the highest debt-to-equity percentage at 143.1%. The digital infrastructure company has a 2% dividend yield and expected earnings growth of 8.5% for 2023. In February, Equinix posted adjusted EBITDA of $838.7 million, beating StreetAccount's estimate of $833.2 million.