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Caterpillar and Deere fell as industrials dropped 2.2%

Caterpillar fell 5.7% and the industrial fund fell 2.2% on Wednesday, October 7, while the health-care fund rose 1.0%.

· 2 min read · ETF.net Research

A yellow Caterpillar front loader carrying gravel up a steep mound under a clear blue sky.

Key takeaways

  • Industrials were the worst fund on the sector board.
  • Caterpillar alone took 0.4 points off the industrial fund.
  • The rest of the holdings did most of the damage.
  • Drug makers, not a single name, lifted health care.

Caterpillar fell 5.7% and Deere fell 3.8% on Wednesday, October 7. XLI, which owns the industrial companies in the S&P 500, fell 2.2%, the worst drop among the eleven sector funds.

Nine of those funds fell. XLV, which owns the health-care companies in that index, rose 1.0%. SPY, the fund that holds the S&P 500, fell 0.2%.

Industrials were the worst of the eleven sector funds

Select sector SPDR ETFs and VNQ, Wednesday, October 7, 2026

  • Health Care+1.0%
  • Utilities+0.01%
  • Consumer Staples−0.1%
  • Consumer Discretionary−0.3%
  • Technology−0.3%
  • Communication Services−0.3%
  • Financials−0.5%
  • Energy−0.6%
  • US Real Estate−1.4%
  • Materials−1.5%
  • Industrials−2.2%

Health care rose 1.0%; nine funds finished lower.

Smaller companies fell more than SPY. IWM, which owns smaller U.S. companies, fell 1.3%.

The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.28% after touching 5.36%, its highest level since 2002. The 30-year yield also touched its highest since 2002, then closed at 5.67%.

Yields eased after the Treasury sold $39 billion of 10-year notes. TLT, which holds long-term U.S. Treasurys, touched its lowest price of the past year and ended down 0.2%.

The eleven sector funds, from the day's best to the worst:

What it holdsMove
Health care, XLV+1.0%
Utilities, XLU0.0%
Consumer staples, XLP-0.1%
Consumer discretionary, XLY-0.3%
Technology, XLK-0.3%
Communication services, XLC-0.3%
Financials, XLF-0.5%
Energy, XLE-0.6%
U.S. real estate, VNQ-1.4%
Materials, XLB-1.5%
Industrials, XLI-2.2%

The industrial drop ran through the fund

XLI had risen 0.9% on Tuesday, October 6. Wednesday more than reversed that gain.

Caterpillar is 7.3% of the fund, and its drop took 0.4 percentage points off it.

The Motley Fool's midday account cited an analyst downgrade and worries about artificial intelligence.

Deere fell after the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Agriculture opened a public inquiry into farm-equipment markets, including whether companies are limiting competition. It is 3.1% of the fund, and the drop took 0.1 percentage points off it.

The rest of the holdings accounted for most of the decline.

XLI's 10 largest holdings all fell

Largest XLI holdings, Wednesday, October 7, 2026

  • CAT−5.7%
  • DE−3.8%
  • PH−3.3%
  • GEV−3.1%
  • ETN−3.1%
  • GE−1.9%
  • RTX−1.7%
  • UBER−0.9%
  • BA−0.8%
  • UNP−0.7%

Caterpillar dropped 5.7%; Deere was next at 3.8%.

Drug makers lifted health care

The rise in XLV was spread across the large drug makers. Eli Lilly, 15% of the fund, rose 2.7% and added 0.4 percentage points. Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie and Amgen added about as much again.

Vistra and NRG rose, but utilities finished flat

XLU rose 3.0% on Tuesday and finished flat on Wednesday.

Vistra, 3.9% of the fund, rose 3.9%. NRG Energy, 1.7% of the fund, rose 4.8%. NextEra Energy, 12.6% of the fund, fell 1.1%.

The sharp gains were in small holdings. NextEra is a much larger one, and it fell.

Wednesday was a broad selloff, and industrials were the worst of it.

ETFs in this story

AXLIState Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF79/100AXLVState Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF84/100AXLUState Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF76/100BTLTiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF69/100AIWMiShares Russell 2000 ETF70/100

Frequently asked questions

Why did Caterpillar fall?

The Motley Fool's midday account cited an analyst downgrade and worries about artificial intelligence.

Why did Deere fall?

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Agriculture opened a public inquiry into farm-equipment markets, including whether companies are limiting competition.

How much of the industrial drop was Caterpillar and Deere?

Caterpillar took 0.4 percentage points off the fund and Deere took 0.1, and the rest of the holdings accounted for most of the decline.

Which sector fund rose?

The health-care fund rose 1.0%, while nine of the eleven sector funds fell.

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