The 11 sectors and the ETFs that track them
Identify the eleven GICS sectors and the SPDR sector ETF that tracks each.
Lesson path
Stocks, ETFs, and Equities Macro
Stock Market Fundamentals
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Identify the eleven GICS sectors and the SPDR sector ETF that tracks each.
Eleven sectors, eleven tickers
Every public company in the US gets sorted into one of eleven sectors under the GICS classification — Global Industry Classification Standard. Apple goes into Technology. Exxon goes into Energy. JPMorgan goes into Financials. The eleven buckets cover everything that trades. Knowing the sectors is how professional traders talk about the market in shorthand — they do not say 'banks and insurers,' they say 'financials' or 'XLF.'
The eleven sectors and their most-watched SPDR ETF tickers: Technology (XLK) — Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia. Financials (XLF) — JPMorgan, Berkshire, Visa. Health Care (XLV) — UnitedHealth, Eli Lilly, Pfizer. Consumer Discretionary (XLY) — Amazon, Tesla, Home Depot. Consumer Staples (XLP) — Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Costco. Industrials (XLI) — Boeing, Caterpillar, Honeywell. Energy (XLE) — Exxon, Chevron, ConocoPhillips. Utilities (XLU) — NextEra, Duke Energy. Real Estate (XLRE) — Prologis, American Tower. Materials (XLB) — Linde, Air Products. Communication Services (XLC) — Meta, Alphabet, Netflix.
Sectors do not all move together. In a typical week, three or four are up and three or four are down. That movement spread is called sector dispersion, and it is one of the most useful signals for understanding what the market is actually doing under the hood. When defensive sectors — utilities, staples, health care — outperform, the market is nervous. When tech and discretionary lead, the market is risk-on. The S&P 500 might be flat while the rotation underneath is violent.
A trader's habit worth building: glance at the sector heatmap once a day. Most charting platforms display all eleven SPDR ETFs in a grid, color-coded by daily move. In ten seconds you can see whether the rally is broad — most sectors green — or narrow, with two or three holding up the average. Narrow rallies tend to be fragile. Broad rallies tend to be durable.
Recap: eleven GICS sectors. SPDR ETFs XLK, XLF, XLV, XLY, XLP, XLI, XLE, XLU, XLRE, XLB, XLC. Watch sector dispersion, not just the index level.
Knowledge check
Answer before moving on.
1. Which sector ETF would you buy to get broad exposure to US banks, insurers, and credit card companies?
2. The S&P 500 is flat on the day, but utilities (XLU) and consumer staples (XLP) are both up over 1% while tech (XLK) is down 1%. What does this rotation suggest?
3. Meta and Netflix sit in which GICS sector?
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