Thursday Sector Laggards: Materials, Technology & Communications

Looking at the sectors faring worst as of midday Thursday, shares of Materials companies are underperforming other sectors, showing a 3.6% loss. Within that group, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX) and Mosaic Co (NYSE:MOS) are two large stocks that are lagging, showing a loss of 8.9% and 8.1%, respectively. Among the high volume ETFs, one ETF closely following materials stocks is the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLB), which is down 2.9% on the day, and up 0.71% year-to-date. Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold, meanwhile, is up 22.56% year-to-date, and Mosaic Co is up 26.29% year-to-date. Combined, FCX and MOS make up approximately 7.2% of the underlying holdings of XLB.

The next worst performing sector is the Technology & Communications sector, showing a 3.2% loss. Among large Technology & Communications stocks, Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) and Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) are the most notable, showing a loss of 10.0% and 9.1%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Technology & Communications stocks is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK), which is down 2.7% in midday trading, and down 3.16% on a year-to-date basis. Enphase Energy Inc., meanwhile, is down 17.32% year-to-date, and Western Digital Corp is up 14.30% year-to-date. Combined, ENPH and WDC make up approximately 0.5% of the underlying holdings of XLK.

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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 Thursday. As you can see, two sectors are up on the day, while seven sectors are down.