US Economy: Investors Find Little Appetite For Consumer Staples
May 27, 2018
The consumer staples index .SPLRCS, the S&P 500’s biggest laggard for 2018, could have further to fall and may even look less appealing as a defensive play in the event the economy turns sour.
The sector, which includes suppliers of so-called recession-proof items ranging from toilet paper and toothpaste to canned soup and cookies, has fallen 13 percent in 2018, on track for its first annual decline since 2008, while the S&P 500 .SPX is up 1.7 percent year-to-date.