A tanker truck at Marathon Oil in Salt Lake City, Utah.
George Frey/Getty Images
Renewed fears about the spread of Covid-19 slammed the broader market on Monday. Even some of the first half’s best performers were caught in the slide.
The S&P 500 index fell 1.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 726 points, or 2.1%, marking the benchmark’s worst day since October.
Some notable exceptions were the stay-at-home beneficiaries like
(ticker: TDOC) and
(PTON). Such stay at home names struggled in in the first half of the year, as investors turned to value plays and beaten-down sectors like energy. That got us thinking about the best S&P 500 performers in the first half of the year, and how they looked on Monday, as well as thus far in the month of July.
See table below (if the table is not visible, trying reading this article on barrons.com):
Sources: Dow Jones Market Data; FactSet
With oil prices rallying in 2021, it’s no surprise energy companies took the lead.
(MRO) led the S&P 500 with a gain of 104% in 2021 through June 30, but is down 18% so far in July. The stock fell 5.4% to $11.12 on Monday, alone.
(FANG) was not far behind, up 94% in the first six months of the year. But it is down 22% in July, including a 6.6% drop to $73.19 on Monday.
(DVN) and
(OXY) also both cracked the top 10, up 85% and 81%, respectively. Both were down more than 3% on Monday, and by double-digits in July. EOG Resources (EOG), a notable shale producer, rose 67% in the first half, but has fallen 16% in July, including a 4.8% drop on Monday.
With reopening tailwinds and a rotation toward value stocks, both
(LB) and
(GPS) were up 94% and 67% respectively.
also made headlines in June when it unveiled plans to finally spin off Victoria’s Secret, leaving the company with Bath & Body Works.
(GNRC), which controls about three-quarters of the market for residential standby generators, is the only stock among the 10 first-half winners that continued to rise in July, including a 0.9% gain on Monday. CEO
Aaron P. Jagdfeld,
among the Barron’s Top CEOs this year, noted earlier this year that 95% of U.S. homes don’t have a standby generator. He told Barron’s part of that it has to do with, “people not really understanding that a product like this exists.”
(NUE) rose 80% in the first six months of the year, as steel stocks benefitted from rising prices amid tighter supply. The stock dropped 2.2% on Monday, bringing its July decline to 6%.
(F) has been investing in electric vehicle technology to take on
(TSLA). Excitement for such efforts, along with an improving auto industry have benefitted the American automaker. The stock rose 69% in the first half, but dropped 11% so far this month. Like the other first-half winners, it was down again on Monday. Go figure.
Write to Connor Smith at connor.smith@barrons.com
