Thursday Sector Laggards: Materials, Industrial

The worst performing sector as of midday Thursday is the Materials sector, showing a 0.4% loss. Within that group, Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (Symbol: MLM) and Vulcan Materials Co (Symbol: VMC) are two large stocks that are lagging, showing a loss of 5.0% and 3.9%, respectively. Among the high volume ETFs, one ETF closely following materials stocks is the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLB), which is down 0.7% on the day, and up 7.27% year-to-date. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., meanwhile, is up 16.85% year-to-date, and Vulcan Materials Co is up 14.76% year-to-date. Combined, MLM and VMC make up approximately 7.0% of the underlying holdings of XLB.

The next worst performing sector is the Industrial sector, showing a 0.2% loss. Among large Industrial stocks, United Rentals Inc (Symbol: URI) and Deere & Co. (Symbol: DE) are the most notable, showing a loss of 3.8% and 3.8%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Industrial stocks is the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI), which is down 0.5% in midday trading, and up 10.31% on a year-to-date basis. United Rentals Inc, meanwhile, is up 20.02% year-to-date, and Deere & Co. is up 0.01% year-to-date. Combined, URI and DE make up approximately 4.0% of the underlying holdings of XLI.

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, four sectors are up on the day, while three sectors are down.

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