Key Highlights

● Utilities trailed the S&P 500 rally on November 9.

● The Dow soared 1,104.02 points.

● The VIX plunged back below 20.

● Every S&P 500 sector still finished higher.

Utilities are the tortoises of the stock market. They sell electricity, gas and water, collect regulated returns and pay reliable dividends. That makes them popular when investors are nervous, and less exciting when fear fades.

Fear faded fast on Monday, November 9, 2026. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,104.02 points, the S&P 500 posted its best day since April 8, and the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, plunged back below 20, according to news reports. In that environment, money rushed toward chipmakers, industrials and airlines, and utilities lagged.

A closing level for the Dow Jones Utility Average on Monday was not immediately available, but utilities were listed among the day's lagging S&P 500 sectors, alongside energy. Even so, every one of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished higher, according to market coverage, so the utilities group trailed rather than fell.

The rotation explained

Rotation describes money moving from one part of the market to another. On Monday it flowed out of defensive corners and into growth and cyclical stocks. Industrials led the S&P 500 sectors, followed by consumer discretionary and technology, reports said. Consumer staples, another defensive group, also trailed, with Hershey (NYSE:HSY) and Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) among the losers.

A Truist strategist captured the shift : "The mood is changing from a fear of downside to the fear of missing out on the upside."

Rates are a headwind

Interest rates add another layer. Utilities are often treated as bond substitutes because of their steady dividends, so they can struggle when yields rise or when investors expect higher rates. The two-year Treasury Yield rose on Monday, according to market reports, and traders saw a Federal Reserve rate hike in December as highly likely, with the odds up from Friday.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Monday that "the risk lies on the Inflation side of our dual mandate," according to market data. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned the AI data-center buildout is "starting to look like old fashioned Demand overheating," reports said.

The AI power exception

Not every power stock was sleepy. Companies tied to supplying electricity for data centers, a hotter corner of the industry, rallied hard. Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG) jumped after its quarterly profit and Revenue beat expectations and it raised full-year guidance to $12.50 to $12.80 a share, according to news reports. NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) gained after Earnings of $4.68 a share topped estimates and it agreed to sell six gas-fired plants to LS Power for $4 billion. Vistra (NYSE:VST) also climbed, and Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) jumped.

Those names are more volatile than traditional regulated utilities and behaved more like AI stocks on Monday. The midterm elections had weighed on AI-linked stocks broadly, and reports said that voters blame data centers for higher power bills and investors worried about restrictions.

Defensive Appeal Returns If Fear Does

For utilities, the path of interest rates is key. Tuesday's October consumer price index is the last before the Fed's December 8-9 meeting. A hot reading could push yields higher and pressure dividend-paying stocks further; a cooler one could offer relief.

Investors will also watch whether the risk-on rotation holds, and whether policy debates in a Democratic-controlled Congress over data centers and power prices weigh on AI-linked power producers. The 10-year Treasury Yield held near 4.87, according to market coverage.