Stock Market Sectors

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The stock market sector refers to a combination of stocks and companies that offer similar products or services that are related to the same industry.
The division of the stock market into sectors allows investors a deeper in-depth analysis of the economy.

All companies belonging to a sector. Microsoft, for instance, operates in the Technology sector. While a sector may have relatively weak returns, a specific company in that ‘weak’ sector could still be more profitable than poor-performing companies in ‘stronger’ sectors.

There are 11 stock market sectors (GICS)

Sector

Market Cap

Information Technology 13.77T
Financials $8.82T
Consumer Discretionary $8.69T
Healthcare $7.67T
Communication Services $6.30T
Industrials $6.25T
Consumer Staples $4.56T
Materials $2.91T
Energy $2.74T
Real Estate $1.60T
Utilities $1.60T

Explanation of the sectors

 

Information technology

IT – sector includes: Internet companies and technology products. Computers, electronic equipment, data processing, communication equipment, IT services, processors, and operating systems.

 

Health services

The health sector includes medical supply companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical devices, cannabis, and marijuana.

 

Financials

The financial sector includes banks, credit card issuers, credit unions, insurance companies, and real estate investment trusts (REIT).

 

Consumer Discretionary

The consumer discretion sector includes luxury cars, jewelry, clothing, sports products, electronic devices, household products, luxury tours, hotels, and restaurants.

 

Communication Services

The communication services sector includes Internet providers and providers of telephone, media, entertainment, and interactive media services and services.

 

Industrials

The industrials sector includes insurance companies, airlines, railways, manufacturers of military weapons, aerospace, and security, and construction and engineering.

 

Consumer Staples

The consumer staples sector includes food, beverages, and tobacco, household product suppliers and personal product suppliers, and supermarkets.

 

Energy

The energy sector includes oil, gas, coal, and fuel companies including companies that find, drill, and produce.

 

Utilities

The Utility sector includes electricity, water, and gas for buildings and households.

 

Real Estate

The real estate sector includes investment trustees (REITs), apartments, malls, offices, and living communities as well as realtors and other companies.

 

Materials

The materials sector mainly includes chemicals, precious metals, and mining, building materials, packaging, metals, and paper companies.