Consumer Staples, Utilities Top Sector ETF Scoreboard

The U.S. stock market has struggled out of the gate in 2025, with the S&P 500 Index down 8% year to date. President Donald Trump’s surprise escalation of the trade war—particularly with China—has spooked investors and sparked a wave of volatility, sending many sectors deep into the red for the year. 

But the pain hasn’t been evenly distributed. Some corners of the market are holding up far better than others.

Three sectors are still in the green for the year:

• Consumer staples, represented by the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) 
• Healthcare, represented by the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV)
• Utilities, represented by the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU)

These are traditionally considered economically resilient or “defensive” sectors, as they include businesses that tend to hold up better when recession fears are rising. With consumer spending and global trade facing fresh uncertainty, it’s no surprise that investors have rotated into safer plays.

2025 Sector ETF Scoreboard 

Consumer staples leads the pack with a 4% gain, while utilities is up 2.6% and healthcare has added a modest 0.7%.

At the other end of the spectrum, technology, represented by the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK), and consumer discretionary, represented by the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) are the worst-performing sectors—both are underperforming the broader market.

Technology is down a sharp 13.9%, as some of the mega-cap tech giants that powered the market in recent years have stumbled. Apple Inc. (AAPL), in particular, has been hit hard by trade tensions with China due to the company’s reliance on the country for manufacturing. 

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), another former market darling, has also pulled back significantly after its meteoric rise in 2024.

Consumer discretionary has fared even worse, plunging 15.2% so far this year. Many of the companies in this sector are highly sensitive to consumer spending and tariffs. 

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), which makes up more than 20% of the sector, has taken a beating amid the China trade war. Tesla Inc. (TSLA), another heavyweight in the sector with a roughly 15% weight, is also among the big losers.

Source: SPDR Sector Tracker 

Other cyclical sectors like energy, represented by the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE), industrials, represented by the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI), and materials, represented by the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB), have also lagged, with losses between 3% and 8%. 

Meanwhile, real estate, represented by the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE), and financials, represented by the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), are holding up slightly better but are still in the red.

The Bottom Line

While the year is still young, the sector divergence underscores how much the market narrative has shifted. The excitement around AI and economic acceleration that dominated 2024 has been replaced by fear of tariffs and stagflation. 

For now, defensive sectors are leading the way.