If the stock market can move sectors and stocks, which sectors and stocks are most likely to move in step with the stock market? Sectors and individual stocks most highly correlated to the overall market can use the S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY) as a directional indicator.

The following sectors are most correlated the S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY).

XLY Consumer Discretionary Sector SPDR Fund
XLF Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund
XLK Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund
XLV Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund
XLB Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

The following individual stocks are most correlated the S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY).

CVX Chevron Corp
PFE Pfizer Inc
TXN Texas Instruments Inc
DOW Dow Chemical Co
C Citigroup Inc
EBAY eBay Inc
MSFT Microsoft Corp
GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc
CVS CVS Caremark Corp
AMGN Amgen Inc
MET MetLife Inc
MA MasterCard Inc
BK The Bank of New York Mellon Corp
AXP American Express Co
ACN Accenture PLC
CMCSA Comcast Corp

Dave Mecklenburg is the Editor-in-Chief of TigerSharkTrading.com.