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(Updated story with prices as of the close Thursday, Feb. 27.)
The benchmark S&P 500 Index of U.S. stocks fell for a sixth straight day since hitting a closing high Feb. 19, as losses accelerated. The S&P 500 plunged 4.4% Thursday, bringing the six-day drop to 12%.
Thursday was the worst day of the downturn, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -4.42% tumbling 1,191 points (or 4.4%) to close at 25,766.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -4.61% was worst of all, with a 4.6% decline. A “correction” is typically considered to be a decrease of at least 10%. A bear market is a drop of 20% or more.
All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 SPX, -4.42% posted declines from Feb. 19 through Feb. 27. Here’s a summary of the sectors and three broad indexes. All figures are through the close of trading Thursday:
| S&P 500 sector | Price change since Feb. 19 | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| Energy | -17.6% | -25.7% | 7.6% |
| Information Technology | -14.7% | -4.6% | 48.0% |
| Financials | -12.2% | -11.5% | 29.2% |
| Consumer Discretionary | -12.0% | -6.4% | 26.2% |
| Materials | -11.9% | -13.3% | 21.9% |
| Industrials | -11.7% | -9.0% | 26.8% |
| Communication Services | -11.5% | -5.9% | 30.9% |
| Health Care | -9.9% | -8.2% | 18.7% |
| Real Estate | -8.7% | -2.8% | 24.9% |
| Utilities | -8.6% | -1.1% | 22.2% |
| Consumer Staples | -8.2% | -6.0% | 24.0% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | -12.2% | -9.7% | 22.3% |
| S&P 500 | -12.0% | -7.8% | 28.9% |
| Nasdaq Composite Index | -12.7% | -4.5% | 35.2% |
Having the energy sector top the list is no surprise. With an oversupply of oil, any indication of an international slowdown will push oil prices lower. West Texas intermediate crude oil CLJ20, -2.95% for April delivery fell 13% to $46.73 on Feb. 27 from $53.49 on Feb. 19.
Here’s a rather alarming set of numbers for two industries within the S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector:
| Industry | Price change – Feb. 19 through Feb. 27 | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines | -22.2% | -27.5% | 34.7% |
| Airlines | -19.1% | -19.8% | 10.2% |
| Source: FactSet | |||
President Trump’s press conference about the federal government’s efforts to prepare for a possible outbreak of the virus in the U.S. didn’t calm U.S. markets. The market rebounded from early losses Thursday but took a turn for the worse until the close at 4 p.m.
Read: Investors fear a ‘supply shock’ that central bankers can’t fix
Here are the 30 stocks among the S&P 500 that declined the most for six trading sessions through Feb. 27:
| Company | Ticker | Industry | Price decline since Feb. 19 | Price change – 2020 | Decline from 52-week high | Price change – 2019 |
| Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. | NCLH, -4.06% | Hotels/Resorts/Cruiselines | -33.2% | -40.5% | -41.9% | 37.8% |
| ViacomCBS Inc. Class B | VIAC, -2.25% | Broadcasting | -33.0% | -43.1% | -55.5% | -4.0% |
| Devon Energy Corp. | DVN, -6.28% | Oil & Gas Production | -31.0% | -39.7% | -55.7% | 15.2% |
| Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | RCL, -6.49% | Hotels/Resorts/Cruiselines | -30.6% | -42.3% | -43.1% | 36.5% |
| American Airlines Group Inc. | AAL, -7.66% | Airlines | -27.3% | -28.2% | -43.9% | -10.7% |
| Carnival Corp. | CCL, -3.89% | Hotels/Resorts/Cruiselines | -26.5% | -37.3% | -45.9% | 3.1% |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc. | AMD, -7.33% | Semiconductors | -25.3% | -4.0% | -25.7% | 148.4% |
| Occidental Petroleum Corp. | OXY, -7.04% | Oil & Gas Production | -25.2% | -22.8% | -53.8% | -32.9% |
| Diamondback Energy Inc. | FANG, -5.80% | Oil & Gas Production | -25.0% | -35.9% | -47.9% | 0.2% |
| Cimarex Energy Co. | XEC, -9.51% | Oil & Gas Production | -24.6% | -41.6% | -59.4% | -14.9% |
| HollyFrontier Corp. | HFC, -10.06% | Oil Refining/Marketing | -24.4% | -36.2% | -45.0% | -0.8% |
| Marathon Oil Corp. | MRO, -5.71% | Oil & Gas Production | -24.3% | -41.6% | -58.1% | -5.3% |
| Live Nation Entertainment Inc. | LYV, -4.95% | Movies/Entertainment | -24.1% | -19.2% | -24.6% | 45.1% |
| Newell Brands Inc | NWL, -6.85% | Industrial Conglomerates | -23.4% | -20.7% | -27.4% | 3.4% |
| FLIR Systems Inc. | FLIR, -17.87% | Aerospace & Defense | -23.1% | -14.7% | -25.3% | 19.6% |
| EOG Resources Inc. | EOG, -5.06% | Oil & Gas Production | -22.4% | -28.4% | -44.4% | -4.0% |
| Halliburton Co. | HAL, -5.49% | Oilfield Services/Equipment | -21.9% | -28.9% | -46.2% | -7.9% |
| Centene Corp. | CNC, -3.25% | Managed Health Care | -21.9% | -16.3% | -23.3% | 9.1% |
| Concho Resources Inc. | CXO, -5.66% | Oil & Gas Production | -21.8% | -26.4% | -48.2% | -14.8% |
| Schlumberger NV | SLB, -5.43% | Oilfield Services/Equipment | -21.7% | -33.2% | -45.1% | 11.4% |
| Lincoln National Corp. | LNC, -6.74% | Life/Health Insurance | -21.6% | -19.1% | -29.3% | 15.0% |
| SVB Financial Group | SIVB, -5.76% | Regional Banks | -20.8% | -15.8% | -22.0% | 32.2% |
| Macy’s Inc | M, -5.08% | Department Stores | -20.8% | -24.1% | -51.0% | -42.9% |
| Western Digital Corp. | WDC, -7.46% | Computer Peripherals | -20.7% | -13.1% | -23.4% | 71.7% |
| MGM Resorts International | MGM, -4.46% | Casinos/Gaming | -20.5% | -23.3% | -26.3% | 37.1% |
| Valero Energy Corp. | VLO, -7.71% | Oil Refining/Marketing | -20.5% | -29.3% | -35.1% | 24.9% |
| ConocoPhillips | COP, -7.90% | Oil & Gas Production | -20.5% | -27.5% | -33.0% | 4.3% |
| Noble Energy Inc. | NBL, -1.18% | Oil & Gas Production | -20.1% | -39.1% | -46.7% | 32.4% |
| Baker Hughes Co. Class A | BKR, -6.14% | Oilfield Services/Equipment | -19.9% | -35.0% | -41.8% | 19.2% |
| Nvidia Corp. | NVDA, -5.57% | Semiconductors | -19.7% | 7.4% | -20.1% | 76.3% |
| Source: FactSet | ||||||
You can click on the tickers for more about each company.
To be sure, not all the price declines reflect coronavirus fears. Shares of ViacomCBS VIAC, -2.25% fell 18% on Feb. 20, after the newly combined company’s earnings forecast for 2020 disappointed investors.
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