The Only 13 S&P 500 Stocks That Rose Today By Nicholas Jasinski Feb. 24, 2020 5:58 pm ET Order Reprints Print Article Text size Photo by Bruno Vincent/Getty Images Getty Images Monday was the worst day for the U.S. stock markets in two years. The S&P 500index lost 3.4%, erasing its 2020 gains and more. All 11 of its sectors declined, led by energy’s 4.6% drop. A sharp rise in coronavirus cases and deaths outside of China had investors worried about the potential impact on global supply chains and consumer demand. But not every stock lost value as investors fled to haven assets like gold and U.S. government debt on Monday. Thirteen of the S&P 500’s 505 components (some companies have multiple share classes, such as Alphabet’s GOOGL and GOOG) managed to end up on the day. The 13 That Rose Company Ticker Feb. 24 Gain Regeneron Pharmaceuticals REGN 5.5% Gilead Sciences GILD 4.6% Newmont NEM 1.7% Clorox CLX 1.6% Mosaic MOS 1.2% Cabot Oil & Gas COG 1.1% MarketAxess Holdings MKTX 0.5% Lamb Weston LW 0.5% Dominion Energy D 0.5% Public Storage PSA 0.3% Showing 1 to 10 of 13 entries ‹ 1 2 › Source: FactSet Biotech Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (ticker: REGN) was the top performer, closing up 5.5%. Bad news for a competitor was good news for Regeneron:Novartis’ (NVS) Beovu macular-degeneration treatment had some concerning safety reports, suggesting that Regeneron’s Eylea alternative could command a greater market share. Analysts upgraded Regeneron, sending its shares higher despite the coronavirus-spurred selloff. Fellow biotech Gilead Sciences(GILD) rose 4.6%.It is developing a treatment for the new form of coronavirus that arose in central China last month—referred to as COVID-19. A World Health Organization official specifically singled out the potential for Gilead’s Remdesivir treatment. The drug has shown to be effective against other forms of coronavirus in animals, and is currently in trials in China in COVID-19 patients. While stocks tumbled on Monday, gold hit its highest settlement price since early 2013. That pushed shares in gold miner Newmont(NEM) 1.7% higher. Investors sought the safety and stability of the metal. Some also sought to take down their risk exposure by buying defensive stocks in the consumer staples, health care, or utilities sectors. These companies’ earnings tend to be relatively stable regardless of what the economy or the rest of the market does. After all, people still need to buy toothpaste, go to the doctor, and use electricity, even during a recession or a viral epidemic. True to form, a handful of consumer-goods companies rose, namely Clorox(CLX) (1.6%),Lamb Weston(0.5%) (LW), and Campbell Soup(0.1%) (CPB). Utility giant Dominion Energy(D) added 0.5%. Senior-housing real-estate investment trust Ventas(VTR) ticked 0.1% higher. A pair of operators of stock, bond, and options exchanges also emerged as beneficiaries of Monday’s turmoil:MarketAxess Holdings(MKTX), up 0.5%, and CME Group(CME), up 0.2%. The companies earn a commission whenever a bond or an options contract changes hands on one of its platforms, so whenever trading volatility increases, so do their revenues. Monday was the largest volume day of the year on U.S. exchanges. Public Storage(PSA) rose 0.3%, ahead of its earnings report on Tuesday. It had endured a big drop last week after the self storage company’s competitor Extra Space Storage(EXR) gave poor profit guidance for 2020. Write toNicholas Jasinski atnicholas.jasinski@barrons.com