US healthcare company Johnson & Johnson has braved choppy credit conditions to sell $2.6bn (€1.9bn) worth of bonds, in the latest indication that investors remain willing to buy debt from companies with top investment grade ratings despite high market volatility.

The sale yesterday comes after a week in which companies from Russian energy company Gazprom to General Electric Capital European Funding, the financing arm of the industrial conglomerate, showed investors remain receptive to well-rated credit sales and that the primary new issue bond market has not entirely seized up.