Alphabet ( GOOG) ( GOOGL ), Philip Morris International ( PM) and Mastercard ( MA) were among the least shorted S&P 500 ( SP500) stocks at December end.

Bets against communication services stocks fell in December compared to the end of November, with Charter Communications (CHTR) being the most shorted stock in the sector and Google-parent Alphabet (GOOG) taking the spot for the least shorted.

There are 11 stock market sectors, but only three beat the S&P 500 last year: communications, financials, and consumer discretionary. Even the technology sector underperformed the S&P 500 last year. In fact, only 148 S&P 500 components beat the index last year, meaning over 70% of components underperformed the index.

Over the past decade, the market capitalization for the Magnificent Seven has grown close to 800 percent. The rest of the S&P 500 has seen its market cap increase by about 150 percent.

Producer price data signals softer inflation, lifting Dow. Nasdaq, S&P 500 under pressure as Nvidia and Meta fall. CPI report looms for further insights.

Big Tech stocks were weighing on the S&P 500 index on Monday, with the megacap chip maker Nvidia Corp. posting the sharpest losses. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF — which holds seven Big Tech stocks including Nvidia Corp.

Investors are also turning to derivatives, such as CME Group’s S&P 500-equal weight futures, to bet on the S&P while hedging against a sharp drop in tech stocks. The contract, which launched in February, has averaged open interest of 16,500 contracts this month, worth about $2.4bn.