Top 10 Stocks for Each of the Top Performing Sectors
By: As investors brace for a dismal earnings season coming out of a turbulent fourth quarter in 2008, the markets closed down yesterday, led by the S&P 500 which was down 2.3%, followed by the Nasdaq and the Dow , down 2.1% and 1.5% respectively.
So far in 2009, the S&P 500 has declined 3.7%, pressured by the Financial sector, down 13% year-to-date, followed by the Telecom sector, with a decrease of 6.8% YTD.
Within the Financial sector, companies such as Wells Fargo , JPMorgan , and Bank of America , have declined 19%, 21%, and 19% respectively since the beginning of the year. Here are some of the worst performing Financials YTD.
The only two sectors modestly up for the year within the S&P 500 Index, are the Information Technology sector, up 0.42% YTD, followed by the Utility sector, with an increase of 0.04% during the same period.
Within the S&P 500 Information Technology sector, the top performers so far are:
Companies holding up the Utility sector in 2009 include Dynegy which is up 17% YTD, CMS Energy and Constellation Energy , both up over 8% YTD.
Of the sectors in the red so far this year, the Materials sector is down the least year-to-date, with a decrease of 1.02%, followed by the Consumer Discretionary sector with a decline of 2.26%. Weighing on the Materials sector, are companies such as Vulcan Materials and United States Steel Corporation , down 18% and 14% respectively YTD.
