On Friday, the defensive, Consumer Staples Sector SPDR ETF was the only member of the group of nine Select Sector SPDR ETFs to book a gain.

During Friday’s “risk off” trading session, the only SPDR Select Sector ETF to end the day in positive territory was the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLP).  The consumer staples sector and the utilities sector are considered among the safest investment choices for times when the stock market gets bearish.  To give you an idea of just how bearish Friday’s trading session was, Friday became the first and only day of the week when none of the major stock indices reached a record-high closing level.  The Nasdaq 100 and the Russell 2000 indices managed to reach only record intraday highs.  Oh, the Hannity!

On Friday, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLP) advanced 0.40 percent to close at $50.01 – just 20 cents (0.39 percent) below its record-high closing price of $50.21, which it reached on January 22.  Twenty-three of the 39 component stocks held by the XLP ETF ended Friday’s session in positive territory.

The top-performing stock from the XLP ETF on Friday was the manufacturer of what I am drinking right now.  Shares for Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ:MNST) vaulted 13.13 percent to $141.12, after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings of 72 cents per share on revenue of $605.57 million, beating analysts’ estimates of 59 cents per share on revenue of $584.53 million.  If I had spent as much money on Monster stock last summer (when it was trading at $65) as I spend drinking that stuff, I would now be as rich as Elon Musk.

Coming in at second place for XLP on Friday was Keurig Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR).  GMCR soared 2.15 percent to $127.58 after the company issued a press release on Thursday afternoon, which began with the following information:

The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) and Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (Keurig) (NASDAQ: GMCR) today expanded their partnership by signing agreements for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of Dunkin K-Cup® packs at retailers nationwide in the U.S. and Canada, and online. Dunkin K-Cup® packs are presently available in Dunkin Donuts restaurants in the U.S. Keurig is the exclusive producer of Dunkin K-Cup® packs and will remain so with the expansion of the partnership. The J.M. Smucker Company currently manufactures and distributes Dunkin Donuts® brand premium bagged coffee where groceries are sold under license from Dunkin Donuts.

Under the new, multi-year agreement, Smucker will distribute and market Dunkin K-Cup® packs exclusively to grocery chains, mass merchandisers, club stores, drug stores, dollar stores and home improvement stores. Keurig will distribute and market Dunkin K-Cup® packs to specialty stores and office superstores. Dunkin K-Cup® packs will continue to be available in Dunkin Donuts restaurants in the U.S.

The last word:  During Friday’s “risk off” trading session, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLP) was the only member of the group of nine Select Sector SPDR ETFs to end the day in positive territory, as two of the nation’s leading caffeine distributors booked impressive gains.