The Materials sector is the worst performing, down 0.8% midday Thursday. International Paper Co (IP) and Mosaic Co (MOS) are major stocks lagging, with losses of 12.2% and 3.4%. The Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) is down 0.6% and up 4.67% year-to-date, while IP is down 25.29% and MOS is up 15.30% year-to-date.

The Technology & Communications sector is also struggling, with Fiserv Inc (FI) and Oracle Corp (ORCL) showing losses of 6.6% and 4.8%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) is down 0.5% and up 30.64% year-to-date. FI is down 67.90%, ORCL is up 58.49% year-to-date and makes up 3.2% of XLK holdings.

In afternoon trading, the S&P 500 shows seven sectors up and one down. Energy leads with a 1.0% gain, while Materials lags with a 0.8% loss. The Financial, Services, Industrial, Consumer Products, Healthcare, and Utilities sectors are all showing gains. Technology & Communications is flat.

Read more at Nasdaq.: Thursday Sector Laggards: Materials, Technology & Communications