Live Update: High-Yield Dividends Stocks React to China’s Tariff Retaliation

The stock market remains in freefall, today on fears of a full-blown trade war having been ignited, sending the stock market officially into correction turf. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is spiraling by another 1,200 points or so while the Nasdaq Composite is shaving off close to 4% in the sell-off. The S&P 500 is currently down a whopping 3.2%. China has attached a massive 34% tariff on U.S. imports, exacerbating the economic uncertainty.

During times like these, investors are holding fast to their dividend stocks, which are continuing to generate income despite the losses. Corporate America has not given any indication that cash distributions are in jeopardy, at least not yet, with companies like Ford (NYSE: F) in a surprise move extending employee pricing on its vehicles to customers. Ford pays a high dividend yield of 7.8%, and the stock is down less than 1% today. We’ve rounded up some generous dividend stocks to consider in the tariff economy.

Here’s a look at the performance as of morning trading:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: Down 1,193.41 (-2.94%)
Nasdaq Composite: Down 609.12 (-3.68%)
S&P 500: Down 181.39 (-3.28%)

Dividend Market Movers

Hershey (NYSE: HSY) is gaining 0.48% today, which is resilient in the current stock market environment. Hershey stock has a dividend yield of 3.2%, making a quarterly distribution of $1.37 per share. Last year’s total payout was $5.48. Hershey reported net sales of $11.2 billion last year and expects predicts net sales growth of at least 2% this year. This stock could also get you through the trade war as consumer demand for sweets could potentially remain strong or even increase throughout changing economic cycles.

Energy stock Exelon Corp (Nasdaq: EXC) pays a dividend yield of 3.4%. Exelon pays a dividend of $0.40 per share, up from $0.38 per share in 2024. The stock is a favorite among institutional investors, including the likes of Schroder Investment Management, as of its latest regulatory filing. Utility stocks are a good bet in a trade war because they tend to be steady performers when other sectors of the economy like technology are volatile. Exelon boasts millions of electricity and natural gas customers who must continue to pay their bills throughout changing economic cycles. Today Exelon stock is gaining 1%.

CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) stock is losing 1.4% today. With a dividend yield of 3.9%, the stock is still delivering on the income side despite market losses. The company pays a regular cash dividend of $0.665 per share, up from $0.605 in 2023. CVS Health has been a pretty dependable dividend payor for investors for the past couple of decades at least. CVS falls into the healthcare bucket and is a favorite among hedge fund traders.

Consumer defensive stock Altria Group (NYSE: MO) is holding its own, down only fractionally in today’s severely down market. Altria Group boasts a dividend yield of 7% for a quarterly distribution of $1.02 per share. Investing in Altria Group is yet another way to continue collecting dividend stocks even when the markets have fallen into correction mode due to the escalation of the global trade war.

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