Wednesday's S&P 500 Sector Recap: Hottest and Coldest Sectors

The S&P 500 (SPX) took a major hit in Wednesday's trading session, finishing down 27.05 points, or 2.03%, from Tuesday's close to 1304.89. The selling began just after the opening bell, and the index extended its losses throughout the session, closing near the low of the day (1303.49), as worries about the debt debacle continue to take their toll on the markets. Wednesday's decline was led by the Technology Sector, which lost 3% on the session. The strongest area of the market was the Utilities Sector, which put in a slight loss of 0.3%. The Sector breakdown for Wednesday's session is as follows: The S&P 500 Technology Sector was the worst performing area of the index in Wednesday's session, losing 3% on the day. The Sector has gained 7% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P Technology Sector in today's action were: 1) Juniper Networks JNPR: Shares of Juniper Networks finished down 20.9% from Tuesday's close to $24.66. 2) Tellabs TLAB: Shares of Tellabs finished down 9% from Tuesday's close to $4.23. 3) JDS Uniphase JDSU: Shares of JDS Uniphase finished down 8.1% from Tuesday's close to $13.78. 4) Corning GLW: Shares of Corning finished down 7.2% from Tuesday's close to $16.04. 5) MEMC Electronic Materials WFR: Shares of MEMC finished down 6.2% from Tuesday's close to $7.57. The S&P 500 Industrials Sector was the second worst performing area of the index in Wednesday's trading session, losing 2.6% on the day. The Sector has lost 2% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P Industrials Sector in today's action were: 1) C.H. Robinson Worldwide CHRW: Shares of C.H. Robinson finished down 8% from Tuesday's close to $73.88. 2) Emerson Electric EMR: Shares of Emerson Electric finished down 6.7% from Tuesday's close to $50.43. 3) Parker Hannifin PH: Shares of Parker Hannifin finished down 5.6% from Tuesday's close to $79.93. Strength in the Sector: The following Industrials stocks showed signs of strength in Wednesday's session, despite negative overall Sector performance: 1) Total System Services TSS: Shares of Total System finished up 5.3% from Tuesday's close to $19.13. 2) Norfolk Southern NSC: Shares of Norfolk finished up 0.75% from Tuesday's close to $76.12. 3) Boeing BA: Shares of Boeing finished up 0.7% from Tuesday's close to $70.63. The S&P 500 Basic Materials Sector lost 2.4% in Wednesday's trading session. The Sector has gained 2.5% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P Basic Materials Sector in today's action were: 1) Allegheny Technologies ATI: Shares of Allegheny Technologies finished down 5% from Tuesday's close to $60.73. 2) Avery Dennison AVY: Shares of Avery Dennison finished down 4.2% from Tuesday's close to $31.65. 3) Alpha Natural Resources ANR: Shares of Alpha Natural finished down 3.6% from Tuesday's close to$43.64. 4) Alcoa A: Shares of Alcoa finished down 3.5% from Tuesday's close to $14.93. 5) AK Steel Holding AKS: Shares of AK Steel finished down 3% from Tuesday's close to $12.42. The S&P 500 Financials Sector lost 2.3% in Wednesday's trading session. The Sector has gained 0.5% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P 500 Financials Sector in today's action were: 1) T Rowe Price TROW: Shares of T Rowe Price finished down 6.8% from Tuesday's close to $55.97. 2) Genworth Financial GNW: Shares of Genworth finished down 5.4% from Tuesday's close to $7.95. 3) Moody's MCO: Shares of Moody's finished down 5.3% from Tuesday's close to $35.45. Strength in the Sector: The following Financials stocks showed signs of strength in Wednesday's session, despite negative overall Sector performance: 1) Ace Limited ACE: Shares of Ace Limited finished up 3.8% from Tuesday's close to $68.38. The S&P 500 Oil & Gas Sector lost 1.8% in Wednesday's trading session. The Sector has gained 7.7% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P Oil & Gas Sector in today's action were: 1) QEP Resources QEP: Shares of QEP finished down 4.8% from Tuesday's close to $43.00. 2) Denbury Resources DNR: Shares of Denbury finished down 4.4% from Tuesday's close to $19.80. 3) Newfield Exploration NFX: Shares of Newfield finished down 4.1% from Tuesday's close to $69.06. Strength in the Sector: The following Oil & Gas stocks showed signs of strength in Wednesday's session, despite negative overall Sector performance: 1) Williams Companies WMB: Shares of Williams Companies finished up 4.8% from Tuesday's close to $32.10. 2) El Paso EP: Shares of El Paso finished up 0.6% from Tuesday's close to $20.92. The S&P 500 Health Care Sector lost 1.7% in Wednesday's trading session. The Sector has lost 1.3% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P Health Care Sector in today's action were: 1) Wellpoint WLP: Shares of Wellpoint finished down 6.6% from Tuesday's close to $68.70. 2) Humana HUM: Shares of Humana finished down 5.5% from Tuesday's close to $74.77. 3) Coventry Health Care CVH: Shares of Coventry finished down 4.9% from Tuesday's close to $34.35. Strength in the Sector: The following Health Care stocks showed signs of strength in Wednesday's session, despite negative overall Sector performance: 1) Gilead Sciences GILD: Shares of Gilead finished up 1.9% from Tuesday's close to $42.97. 2) Hospira HSP: Shares of Hospira finished up 0.6% from Tuesday's close to $52.40. The S&P 500 Consumer Services Sector lost 1.43% in Wednesday's trading session. The Sector has gained 2.9% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P Consumer Services Sector in today's action were: 1) Abercrombie & Fitch ANF: Shares of Abercrombie finished down 4.5% from Tuesday's close to $73.60. 2) Urban Outfitters URBN: Shares of Urban Outfitters finished down 4.3% from Tuesday's close to $32.16. 3) SuperValu SVU: Shares of SuperValu finished down 4.1% from Tuesday's close to $8.74. Strength in the Sector: The following Consumer Services stocks showed signs of strength in Wednesday's trading session, despite negative overall Sector performance: 1) International Game Technology IGT: Shares of International Game Technology finished up 3.9% from Tuesday's close to $18.80. 2) Amazon.com AMZN: Shares of Amazon finished up 3.9% from Tuesday's close to $222.52. 3) Wyndham Worldwide WYN: Shares of Wyndham finished up 1.6% from Tuesday's close to $34.73. The S&P 500 Consumer Goods Sector lost 1.3% in Wednesday's trading session. The Sector has gained 1.3% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P 500 Consumer Goods Sector in today's action were: 1) Harman International Industries HAR: Shares of Harman finished down 4.5% from Tuesday's close to $42.90. 2) Ford Motor F: Shares of Ford finished down 4.4% from Tuesday's close to $12.37. 3) Johnson Controls JCI: Shares of Johnson Controls finished down 4.1%from Tuesday's close to $37.20. Strength in the Sector: The following Consumer Goods stocks showed signs of strength in Wednesday's session, despite negative overall Sector performance: 1) Clorox CLX: Shares of Clorox finished up 0.5% from Tuesday's close to $73.63. The S&P 500 Telecomm Sector lost 0.5% in Wednesday's trading session. The Sector has lost 2% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P Telecomm Sector in today's action were: 1) American Tower AMT: Shares of American Tower finished down 2.9% from Tuesday's close to $51.22. 2) Leucadia National LUK: Shares of Leucadia finished down 2.8% from Tuesday's close to $33.02. 3) Metropcs Communications PCS: Shares of Metropcs finished down 2.7% from Tuesday's close to $16.45. 4) Frontier Communications FTR: Shares of Frontier finished down 2.1% from Tuesday's close to $7.51. 5) CenturyLink CTL: Shares of CenturyLink finished down 1.7% from Tuesday's close to $37.62. The S&P 500 Utilities Sector was the strongest performing area of the index in Wednesday's trading session, losing 0.3% on the day. The Sector has gained 2% over the past 30 days. The worst performing stocks in the S&P Utilities Sector in today's action were: 1) CMS Energy CMS: Shares of CMS finished down 1.5% from Tuesday's close to $19.61. 2) NiSource NI: Shares of NiSource finished down 1.3% from Tuesday's close to $20.36. 3) NextEra Energy NEE: Shares of NextEra finished down 1.2% from Tuesday's close to $1.2% Strength in the Sector: The following Utilities stocks showed signs of strength in Wednesday's session, despite negative overall Sector performance: 1) Exelon EXC: Shares of Exelon finished up 0.8% from Tuesday's close to $44.59. 2) Constellation Energy CEG: Shares of Constellation finished up 0.6% from Tuesday's close to $39.59. 3) PPL PPL: Shares of PPL finished up 0.5% from Tuesday's close to $28.63.