The safest area of the stock market is getting obliterated by rising interest rates

• One of the most defensive areas of the stock market has been obliterated by rising interest rates.
• Utility stocks are down 24% year to date and are the worst performing sector of 2023.
• The high-yielding nature of utility stocks is seeing intense competition from 5% cash returns.

One of the most defensive areas of the stock market has been obliterated by rising interest rates this year.

The utility sector is down a whopping 24% year to date, as measured by the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF, making it the worst performing sector of 2023 so far. The sector was down 5% alone on Monday.