On Wednesday afternoon trading, energy stocks faced a significant decline, with the sector down 2.3%. Notable companies Diamondback Energy (FANG) and Marathon Petroleum (MPC) each saw a loss of 3.8%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) also dropped 2.7% for the day but remains up 12.3% year-to-date. Diamondback Energy is up 14.35% in 2023, while Marathon Petroleum is up 3.14%, together representing approximately 5.5% of XLE’s holdings.
The Materials sector also performed poorly, down 1.4%. Major companies like Albemarle Corp. (ALB) and Builders FirstSource Inc. (BLDR) declined by 5.7% and 3.7%, respectively. The Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) fell 1.0% but is up 10.62% year-to-date. Year-to-date, Albemarle Corp. is down 28.01%, while Builders FirstSource Inc. is up 6.40%, with ALB making up roughly 1.7% of XLB.
In summary, among sectors, Technology and Communications are leading with a gain of 0.5%, while Energy and Materials lag the most at -2.3% and -1.4%, respectively.
