The consumer-staples sector, heavily populated by shares of grocers, is on track to book its worst one-day decline since November, as Amazon.com Inc. said it will buy Whole Foods Market Inc. in a $13.7 billion merger. Consumer staples shares in the S&P 500 index were down 1.6% and looking at their worst single-session drop since Nov. 30, when the sector tumbled 1.7%, according to FactSet data. A popular fund used to bet on consumer-staples companies, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF , was down 2.4% and pacing its worst daily fall since Nov. 10. Shares of Kroger Co. led losses, down more-than 13%, Costco Wholesale Corp. was off 7% and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell about 6%. The consumer-staples sector of the S&P 500 index was the worst performer of the index’s 11 sectors. More broadly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index traded 0.2% lower.
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