The S&P 500 Index dropped 6.84%, including dividends in a showing that was a rude awakening for investors who had, once again, become complacent. The beginning of this year was marked by a surge in January following a year in which the index didn’t drop for a single month. But after February and March wiped out January’s gains, rattled investors relaxed once again. Now that everyone’s on high alert again, it’s a decent time to see which stocks and sectors held up for the month. Keep in mind that our numbers are 1-month returns through October 30th, according to Morningstar, and stocks rallied on the 31st.

First, as we look at the top positions of the S&P 500 Index, it’s striking how many companies are technology or financial services companies, according to Morningstar’s classification. It seems like that’s what our economy consists of now – wealthy people checking their investment accounts on iPhones and less-than-wealthy people doing other things on cheaper phones.

In any case, the month wasn’t kind to FAANG stocks. Although Apple held up with a -5.5% showing through Oct. 30th, Amazon dropped more than 20%. Facebook dropped more than 10% and Alphabet more than 13%. Although not a top-15 index position, Netflix dropped more than 20% for the month through Oct. 30th.

The clear winners were healthcare stocks. Johnson & Johnson gained nearly 2%, making it the only top-15 constituent to post a positive return. Another pharmaceutical firm, Pfizer, and health insurance giant, UnitedHealth Group (UNH), managed to keep their losses to less than 3% each.

Financial services had a mixed showing. Berkshire Hathaway dropped less than 5%, as did JP Morgan Chase. But Bank of America shed 9%, and Visa dropped nearly 12%.

Defensive Sectors And Healthcare Shine

Since we can’t get a good cross-section of sectors by looking at the top-15 constituents of the index, let’s move to the sectors themselves as represented by ETFs. Here the returns will be on a 1-month basis through Oct 30th. It turns out the defensive sectors that pay dividends held up.The SPDR Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) posted a 1.98% 1-month gain. Similarly, the iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF (ICF) dropped 1.47%. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) posted a 2% 1-month gain, while the iShares. U.S. Financials ETF (IYF) lost around 5%. The iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) lost a little more than 7%.