Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Sector Leaders and Losers, 4/23/26

The S&P 500 (SPX) closed lower on Thursday amid heightened tensions over the Strait of Hormuz and renewed concerns of AI disrupting technology companies. Let’s break down the sectors behind the performance.

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Today’s Top-Performing Sector 

Utilities was the top-performing sector, driven by risk-off sentiment among investors and demand for defensive stocks. The sector tends to benefit when uncertainty rises, with Iran’s reluctance to engage in negotiations further reinforcing defensive positioning across the market.

Several utilities stocks led the sector’s gains, including:

• NextEra Energy (NEE)
• NiSource (NI)
• American Water Works (AWK)
• Atmos Energy (ATO)
• Entergy (ETR)

Today’s Worst-Performing Sector 

Meanwhile, the information technology sector faced the largest drawdown following disappointing earnings reports from ServiceNow (NOW) and IBM (IBM). This reinvigorated concerns that AI could displace parts of the software industry and pressure growth and margin expectations.

Notable information technology stocks trading lower include:

• ServiceNow (NOW)
• Workday (WDAY)
• Salesforce (CRM)
• Super Micro Computer (SMCI)
• IBM (IBM)