Defensives Lead Sectors In Friday Trading As Growth Trails

Five sectors are higher and six are lower in Friday’s regular session, with defensive sectors holding the top three positions. The leaders are clustered rather than separated, while Technology sits well clear of the rest, divided from the next-weakest sector by a margin several times wider than any other gap.

Prices as of 11:00 a.m. ET; quotes delayed 15 minutes.

Market Snapshot

The major averages are lower, with the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) down 1.25% and the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ) 2.62%, while the State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) is down 0.42% and the iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (NYSE:IWM) 1.25%. Ten of the eleven sectors outpace the S&P 500.

Leading Sectors

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) +1.38%

Among the sector’s large-cap names, PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) is up 2.69%, Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) 1.74% and Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) 1.53%.

Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) +1.30%

Among the sector’s large-cap names, Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) is up 1.67%, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) 1.60% and EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG) 1.38%.

Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) +1.13%

Among the sector’s large-cap names, Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) is up 4.33%, Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) 1.55% and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) 1.51%.

Middle Of The Pack

• Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) +0.73%
• Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) +0.32%
• Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) -0.31%
• Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) -0.39%
• Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) -0.42%

Lagging Sectors

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) -0.62%

Among the sector’s large-cap names, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is down 1.70% and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) 0.37%, while The Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) is up 0.17%.

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLI) -0.82%

Among the sector’s large-cap names, GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) is down 2.11%, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) 1.65% and Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) 0.18%.

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) -4.03%

Among the sector’s large-cap names, Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) is down 5.01%, Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) 4.66% and NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) 3.18%.

Cross-Sector Takeaway

The 5.41-point spread between Consumer Staples and Technology is roughly double the largest move among the major averages, which are down between 0.42% and 2.62%. The major averages are lower, masking a session where leadership is concentrated in Consumer Staples, Energy and Health Care. Defensives are holding up better — Consumer Staples sits at the top of the table and Real Estate remains fifth — which gives the session a rotational look.

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