Stocks Resume Slide

Stocks fell on July 16 after gaining ground in eight straight trading sessions.

VCR
(click to expand)

The SPDR S&P500 (SPY) fell 2.75% on Friday, ending a streak in which stocks gained 7.3%.  Stocks have generally trended down since peaking in early May.

Hit especially hard was the Consumer Discretionary Sector which had outperformed the broader market earlier in the year.

The Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) was down 3.7% on Friday.

Top holdings for the $230 million exchange traded fund include McDonald’sWalt DisneyComcastHome Depot and Amazon.

Faltering consumer sentiment cast a shadow on consumer stocks. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumers showed U.S. consumer sentiment fell far more than expected to 66.5 in a preliminary July reading, down sharply from 76.0, June’s final number.

For more investing choices, see the list of Market Cap ETFs.