Thursday's S&P Sector Recap 6/23/11

By Benjamin Lee
Benzinga Staff Writer
June 23, 2011 5:43 PM

Symbols: ADM, AEE, AET, AMT, ATI, AVB, AVY, BBBY, BMY, BXP, CCL, CLF, CMI, CNP, CSC, CTL, CVC, CVH, CVS, DF, DFS, DISCA, DOW, EA, EIX, FIS, FLS, GOOG, HCP, HES, LUV, MRO, MU, NE, NWL, OKE, PAYX, PCS, PFE, PPG, QEP, RHT, S, SLM, STJ, TSN, TSO, WDC, WIN

Tags: S&P 500, S&P 500 Basic Materials Sector, S&P 500 Consumer Goods Sector, S&P 500 Consumer Services Sector, S&P 500 Financials Sector, S&P 500 Health Care Sector, S&P 500 Industrials Sector, S&P 500 Oil & Gas Sector, S&P 500 Technology Sector, S&P 500 Telecomm Sector, S&P 500 Utilities Sector, SPX

Posted in: Long Ideas, News, Short Ideas, Technicals, Hot, Pre-Market Outlook, After-Hours Center, Markets, Movers, Trading Ideas

The S&P 500 traded in negative territory for the entire session Thursday, but finished well off of the lows of the day. The SPX hit its intraday low of 1262.87 at 10:51am, but steadily rose throughout the remainder of the session. The big gain came at 2:55pm when the index jumped from 1268.73 to 1277.17, as the euro spiked against the dollar.

The SPX finished down 3.61 to 1283.50, losing 0.3% on the day.

The Sector Breakdown for Thursday's session is as follows:

The Technology Sector was the strongest performing area of the market in Thursday's trading session, gaining 0.9% on the day. The strongest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Technology Sector in today's action were:

1) Western Digital (NYSE: WDC): Shares of Western Digital finished up 7% from yesterday's close to $37.01.

2) Red Hat (NYSE: RHT): Shares of Red Hat finished up 3.5% from yesterday's close to $45.27.

3) Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU): Shares of Micron Technology finished up 3.2% from yesterday's close to $8.43.

Weakness in the Sector: The following Technology stocks showed signs of weakness in Thursday's session, despite overall Sector strength:

1) Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC): Shares of Computer Sciences finished down 1.5% from yesterday's close to #37.70.

2) Google (NASDAQ: GOOG): Shares of Google finished down 1.4% from yesterday's close to $480.22.

The Consumer Services Sector gained 0.3% in Thursday's trading session. The strongest performing stocks in the S&P Consumer Services Sector in today's action were:

1) Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY): Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond finished up 5.3% from yesterday's close to $56.93.

2) Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV): Shares of Southwest Airlines finished up 3.5% from yesterday's close to $11.41.

3) Carnival (NYSE: CCL): Shares of Carnival finished up 3.5% from yesterday's close to $37.64.

Weakness in the Sector: The following Consumer Services stocks showed signs of weakness in Thursday's trading session, despite overall Sector strength:

1) Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA): Shares of Discovery Communications finished down 2.5% from yesterday's close to $40.64

2) Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC): Shares of Cablevision Systems finished down 1.8% from yesterday's close to $34.73.

3) CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS): Shares of CVS Caremark finished down 1.7% from yesterday's close to $36.82.

The Basic Materials Sector was basically neutral in Thursday's trading session, gaining 0.03%. The strongest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Basic Materials Sector in Thursday's action were:

1) Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF): Shares of Cliffs Natural Resources finished up 2.7% from yesterday's close to $86.33.

2) Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY): Shares of Avery Dennison finished up 2% from yesterday's close to $37.78.

3) Allegheny Technologies (NYSE: ATI): Shares of Allegheny Technologies finished up 1.4% from yesterday's close to $60.76.

Weakness in the Sector: The following Basic Materials stocks showed signs of weakness in Thursday's trading session:

1) Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW): Shares of Dow Chemical finished down 1% from yesterday's close to $35.62.

2) PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG): Shares of PPG Industries finished down 0.8% from yesterday's close to $87.01.

The Health Care Sector finished Thursday's session marginally negative, losing 0.06%. The weakest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Health Care Sector in today's action were:

1) St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ): Shares of St. Jude Medical finished down 2.6% from yesterday's close to $47.70.

2) Coventry Health Care (NYSE: CVH): Shares of Coventry Health Care finished down 1.5% from yesterday's close to $35.55.

3) Aetna (NYSE: AET): Shares of Aetna finished down 1.4% from yesterday's close to $43.63.

Strength in the Sector: The following Health Care stocks showed signs of strength in Thursday's session, despite overall sector weakness:

1) Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY): Shares of Bristol Myers Squibb finished up 5.7% from yesterday's close to $29.33.

2) Pfizer (NYSE: PFE): Shares of Pfizer finished up 1.8% from yesterday's close to $20.65.

The Telecomm Sector lost 0.2% in Thursday's session. The weakest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Telecomm Sector in today's action were:

1) Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S): Shares of Sprint Nextel finished down 1.2% from yesterday's close to $5.06.

2) CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL): Shares of CenturyLink finished down 0.7% from yesterday's close to $39.71.

3) Windstream (NASDAQ: WIN): Shares of Windstream finished down 0.7% from yesterday's close to $13.14.

Strength in the Sector: The following Telecomm stocks showed signs of strength in Thursday's trading session, despite overall Sector weakness:

1) Metropcs Communications (NYSE: PCS): Shares of Metropcs finished up 1.6% from yesterday's close to $16.77.

2) American Tower (NYSE: AMT): Shares of American Tower finished up 1% from yesterday's close to $52.49.

The Industrials Sector lost 0.3% in Thursday's trading session. The weakest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Industrials Sector in today's action were:

1) Flowserve (NYSE: FLS): Shares of Flowserve finished down 3% from yesterday's close to $105.71.

2) Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE: FIS): Shares of Fidelity National finished down 2.4% from yesterday's close to $30.34.

Strength in the Sector: The following Industrials stocks showed signs of strength in Thursday's session, despite overall Sector weakness:

1) Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX): Shares of Paychex finished up 2.9% from yesterday's close to $30.57.

2) Cummins (NYSE: CMI): Shares of Cummins finished up 2.3% from yesterday's close to $98.35.

The Consumer Goods Sector lost 0.8% in Thursday's trading session. The weakest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Consumer Goods Sector in today's action were:

1) Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS): Shares of Electronic Arts finished down 2.8% from yesterday's close to $21.90.

2) Dean Foods (NYSE: DF): Shares of Dean Foods finished down 2.8% from yesterday's close to $12.22.

3) Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM): Shares of Archer Daniels Midland finished down 2.6% from yesterday's close to $29.51.

Strength in the Sector: The Consumer Goods stocks showed signs of strength in Thursday's session, despite overall Sector weakness:

1) Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN): Shares of Tyson Foods finished up 2.5% from yesterday's close to $18.74.

2) Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL): Shares of Newell Rubbermaid finished up 2.3% from yesterday's close to $15.35.

The Utilities Sector lost 0.86% in Thursday's trading session. The weakest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Utilities Sector in Thursday's action were:

1) Ameren (NYSE: AEE): Shares of Ameren finished down 1.7% from yesterday's close to $28.01.

2) Edison International (NYSE: EIX): Shares of Edison International finished down 1.7% from yesterday's close to $38.36.

3) Centerpoint Energy (NYSE: CNP): Shares of Centerpoint Energy finished down 1.4% from yesterday's close to $18.76.

Strength in the Sector: The following Utilities stocks showed signs of strength in Thursday's trading session, despite overall Sector weakness:

1) Oneok (NYSE: OKE): Shares of Oneok finished up 0.5% from yesterday's close to $72.33.

The Financials Sector lost 0.9% in Thursday's session. The weakest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Financials Sector in today's action were:

1) HCP (NYSE: HCP): Shares of HCP finished down 3% from yesterday's close to $36.53.

2) Avalonbay Communities (NYSE: AVB): Shares of Avalonbay finished down 3% from yesterday's close to $127.61.

3) Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP): Shares of Boston Properties finished down 2.9% from yesterday's close to $103.67.

Strength in the Sector: The following Financials stocks showed signs of strength in Thursday's session, despite overall Sector weakness:

1) SLM (NYSE: SLM): Shares of SLM finished up 1.4% from yesterday's close to $16.63.

2) Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS): Shares of Discover Financial Services finished up 1.3% from yesterday's close to $23.89.

The Oil & Gas Sector was the worst performing area of the market in Thursday's session, losing 1.2%. The weakest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Oil & Gas Sector in today's action were:

1) Hess (NYSE: HES): Shares of Hess finished down 2.6% from yesterday's close to $69.58.

2) Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO): Shares of Marathon Oil finished down 2.2% from yesterday's close to $51.62.

3) Noble (NYSE: NE): Shares of Noble finished down 1.8% from yesterday's close to $39.10.

Strength in the Sector: The following Oil & Gas stocks showed signs of strength in Thursday's session, despite overall Sector weakness:

1) Tesoro (NYSE: TSO): Shares of Tesoro finished up 1.4% from yesterday's close to $22.39.

2) QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP): Shares of QEP Resources finished up 0.9% from yesterday's close to $39.93.