Wednesday Sector Laggards: Consumer Products, Healthcare

In afternoon trading on Wednesday, Consumer Products stocks are the worst performing sector, up 0.1%. Within the sector, Hershey Company (Symbol: HSY) and Conagra Brands Inc (Symbol: CAG) are two large stocks that are lagging, showing a loss of 2.9% and 2.0%, respectively. Among consumer products ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the iShares U.S. Consumer Goods ETF (Symbol: IYK), which is down 0.3% on the day, and down 2.34% year-to-date. Hershey Company, meanwhile, is down 10.92% year-to-date, and Conagra Brands Inc, is down 8.02% year-to-date. Combined, HSY and CAG make up approximately 1.7% of the underlying holdings of IYK.

The next worst performing sector is the Healthcare sector, up 0.3%. Among large Healthcare stocks, Viatris Inc (Symbol: VTRS) and McKesson Corp (Symbol: MCK) are the most notable, showing a loss of 3.2% and 1.9%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Healthcare stocks is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which is up 0.5% in midday trading, and up 2.23% on a year-to-date basis. Viatris Inc, meanwhile, is down 8.84% year-to-date, and McKesson Corp is up 2.25% year-to-date. Combined, VTRS and MCK make up approximately 1.8% of the underlying holdings of XLV.

Comparing these stocks and ETFs on a trailing twelve month basis, below is a relative stock price performance chart, with each of the symbols shown in a different color as labeled in the legend at the bottom:

Here’s a snapshot of how the S&P 500 components within the various sectors are faring in afternoon trading on Wednesday. As you can see, nine sectors are up on the day, while none of the sectors are down.

Sector	% Change
Financial	+1.8%
Technology & Communications	+1.5%
Energy	+1.5%
Utilities	+1.4%
Materials	+1.1%
Industrial	+1.0%
Services	+0.9%
Healthcare	+0.3%
Consumer Products	+0.1%