Wall Street took a volatile turn this week as investors retreated out of the market and back into safe havens due to bleak economic outlook from the Federal Reserve and reignited coronavirus pandemic fears. Coronavirus cases and hospitalization in the United States are steadily increasing in states all throughout the country, pressuring for a potential resurgence of social restrictions.

Market benchmark exchange-traded funds are all dipping lower this week as investor sentiment waned away from its recent reopening optimism. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY  ) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ  ) both dropped as market participants grew more uncertain of more potential pandemic shutdowns and economic hinderances. SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA  ) was the hardest hit, with the fund declining back below its its 200-day simple moving average.

During times of market volatility, funds that track the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) tend to surge in the opposite direction of the market. The VIX was created by the Chicago Board Options Exchange to represent in real-time what the market's expectations of 30-day forward looking volatility are. Moving with the market, funds that track the VIX tend to rise when the stock market drops. This makes owning volatility funds a type of investment insurance for day trading. Popular VIX-related funds include iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Future ETN (VXX  ), Proshares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY  ) and Velocity Shares Daily Long VIX Short-Term ETN (VIIX  ).

Nevertheless, it is always important to diversify your portfolio to be able to weather any market downturn that could be coming around the corner. Popular market safe havens, investments that are expected to maintain or increase in volume during broader market slumps, include gold, defensive stocks, and United States government bonds.

Gold exchange-traded funds can be seen as the low-cost option for investing in the commodity. However, since the price of the yellow metal can sometimes swing, gold ETFs can be somewhat volatile. Gold ETFs include: SDPR Gold Trust (GLD  ), iShares Gold Trust (IAU  ), SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM  ), and Perth Mint Physical Gold ETF (AAAU  ).

Defensive stocks include sectors like consumer goods, healthcare, and utilities. they are called defensive because their values typically remain the same during market uncertainty. Popular defensive funds include: Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV  ), Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY  ), Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP  ), and Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU  ).

Finally, government bond funds track indexes that comprise U.S. government debt obligations. The performance of these ETFs tends to stay on track with forecasted interest rates, meaning that if the rates rise, bond ETF prices will fall. U.S. bond funds include: iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY  ), SPDR Barclays Intermediate Term Treasury ETF (ITE  ) and Vanguard Long-Term Government Bond ETF (VGLT  ).