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
XLB Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund
XLI Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund
XLP Consumer Staples Sector SPDR Fund

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

MMM 3M Company
JNJ Johnson and Johnson
INTC Intel Corp
MO Altria Group Inc
MCD McDonald's Corporation
IBM International Business Machines Corp
CVX Chevron Corp
APC Anadarko Petroleum Corp
EMR Emerson Electric Co
OXY Occidental Petroleum Corp
PG Procter & Gamble Co
WAG Walgreens
TWX Time Warner Inc
BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway Inc
KO The Coca Cola Co
DVN Devon Energy Corp
MS Morgan Stanley
BA The Boeing Co
XOM Exxon Mobil Corp
BAC Bank of America Corp
MSFT Microsoft Corp
WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc
HD Home Depot Inc
CVS CVS Caremark Corp
F Ford Motor Co
CL Colgate Palmolive Co
UPS United Parcel Service Inc
TXN Texas Instruments Inc
LMT Lockheed Martin Corp
HAL Halliburton Co
ORCL Oracle Corporation
LOW Lowe's Companies Inc
QCOM QUALCOMM Inc
EXC Exelon Corp
NKE Nike Inc
PM Philip Morris International Inc
SO Southern Co
PEP Pepsico Inc
EBAY eBay Inc
SPG Simon Property Group Inc
NOV National Oilwell Varco Inc
CMCSA Comcast Corp
ACN Accenture PLC
CAT Caterpillar Inc
LLY Eli Lilly and Co
GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc
V Visa Inc
T AT&T Inc
MRK Merck & Co Inc
BAX Baxter International Inc
FCX Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc
BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
WFC Wells Fargo & Company
GE General Electric Co
FDX FedEx Corporation
UNP Union Pacific Corp
DD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co
SBUX Starbucks Corp
AAPL Apple Inc
MDT Medtronic Inc

Dave Mecklenburg is the Publisher of TigerSharkTrading.com.