--- title: "Defensives Lead Sectors In Thursday Trading As Technology Trails" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/301998349.md" description: "On Thursday, defensive sectors led market gains while technology lagged. Health Care (+2.42%), Materials (+1.73%), and Consumer Staples (+1.50%) were top performers, with Eli Lilly and UnitedHealth Group leading in Healthcare. Conversely, Technology (-1.39%) and Energy (-1.26%) declined, driven by drops in NVIDIA and SLB. Major averages were mixed, with the Dow and Russell 2000 rising slightly while the Nasdaq fell. Leadership was concentrated in defensive names, highlighting a divergence between growth and value sectors." datetime: "2026-10-15T15:09:32.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/301998349.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/301998349.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/301998349.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Defensives Lead Sectors In Thursday Trading As Technology Trails Seven sectors are higher and four are lower in Thursday’s regular session, with defensive sectors holding two of the top three positions. The leaders are separated rather than clustered, with Health Care sitting well above the next group. | Sector | Ticker | Price | Change | | ---------------------- | ------ | ------ | ------ | | Health Care | XLV | 178.17 | +2.42% | | Materials | XLB | 50.53 | +1.73% | | Consumer Staples | XLP | 87.36 | +1.50% | | Consumer Discretionary | XLY | 112.95 | +1.30% | | Communication Services | XLC | 112.20 | +1.24% | | Real Estate | XLRE | 41.93 | +1.06% | | Financials | XLF | 54.91 | +0.70% | | Industrials | XLI | 166.49 | -0.33% | | Utilities | XLU | 41.55 | -0.40% | | Energy | XLE | 66.78 | -1.26% | | Technology | XLK | 187.80 | -1.39% | *Prices as of 11:00 a.m. ET; quotes delayed 15 minutes.* ## Market Snapshot The major averages are mixed, with the **State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust** (NYSE:SPY) little changed, the **Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1** (NASDAQ:QQQ) down 0.70%, the **State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust** (NYSE:DIA) up 0.83% and the **iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund** (NYSE:IWM) up 0.99%. ## Leading Sectors ### Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) +2.42% Among the sector’s large-cap names, **Eli Lilly and Co** (NYSE:LLY) is up 4.45%, **UnitedHealth Group Inc** (NYSE:UNH) 3.59% and **Merck & Co Inc** (NYSE:MRK) 1.91%. ### Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) +1.73% Among the sector’s large-cap names, **Sherwin-Williams Co** (NYSE:SHW) is up 3.44%, **Newmont Corp** (NYSE:NEM) 1.90% and **Ecolab Inc** (NYSE:ECL) 1.68%. ### Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) +1.50% Among the sector’s large-cap names, **Walmart Inc** (NASDAQ:WMT) is up 2.44%, **Procter & Gamble Co** (NYSE:PG) 1.21% and **Coca-Cola Co** (NYSE:KO) 1.19%. ## Middle Of The Pack - **Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLY) +1.30% - **Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLC) +1.24% - **Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLRE) +1.06% - **Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLF) +0.70% - **Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund** (NYSE:XLI) -0.33% ## Lagging Sectors ### Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) -0.40% Among the sector’s large-cap names, **American Electric Power Co Inc** (NASDAQ:AEP) is down 1.40% and **Dominion Energy Inc** (NYSE:D) 0.03%, while **Duke Energy Corp** (NYSE:DUK) is up 0.09%. ### Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) -1.26% Among the sector’s large-cap names, **SLB Ltd** (NYSE:SLB) is down 1.29%, **ExxonMobil Holdings Corp** (NYSE:XOM) 1.12% and **EOG Resources Inc** (NYSE:EOG) 0.60%. ### Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) -1.39% Among the sector’s large-cap names, **NVIDIA Corp** (NASDAQ:NVDA) is down 1.93% and **Broadcom Inc** (NASDAQ:AVGO) 1.47%, while **Apple Inc** (NASDAQ:AAPL) is up 0.54%. ## Cross-Sector Takeaway The 3.81-point spread between Health Care and Technology is more than three times the largest move among the major averages, which range from down 0.70% to up 0.99%. The mixed major averages mask a session where leadership is concentrated in Health Care, Materials and Consumer Staples. Defensives are split, with Health Care near the top of the table and Utilities near the bottom. *For more information on sector movers, visit Benzinga’s movers page. 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