The GICS divides the economy into 10 sectors: materials(chemi-
cals, papers, steel, and mining), industrials (capital goods, defense,
transportation, and commercial and environmental services), energy
(exploration, production, marketing, refining of oil and gas, and coal),
utilities(electric, gas, water, and nuclear generating or transmission
firms),telecommunication services(fixed line, cellular, wireless, and
bandwidth),consumer discretionary(household durables, autos, ap-
parel, hotels, restaurants, media, and retailing), consumer staples(food,
tobacco, personal products, retailing, and hypermarkets), healthcare
(equipment producers, healthcare providers, pharmaceuticals, and
biotechs),financial(commercial and investment banking, mortgages,
brokerage, insurance, and real estate [REITs]), and information technol-
ogy(software services, Internet, home entertainment, data processing,
computers, and semiconductors).
The share of the market value of each of these sectors in the S&P 500
Index from 1957 through 2006 is displayed in Figure 4-1. Many of theCHAPTER 4 The S&P 500 Index 53
FIGURE 4–1
Changes in Sector Weighting, 1957 through December 2006