defensive stocks

If you looked at just the first-quarter results you could be forgiven for thinking that everything in the stock market is rosy.

The Dow Jones Industrials and the S&P 500 turned in their best performances since 1998, rising 8.14% and 12.0%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq was even stronger, riding a tech-stock rally to a gain of nearly 19% - its best yearly start since 1991.

But as every seasoned investor knows, the markets never go straight up or straight down.

Prospects for continued strength may seem bright, but the recent five-day slide that took the Dow down almost 550 points might be pointing to something else entirely.

That's why now is the perfect time to consider shifting at least some of your funds into "defensive" stocks.