Characterize the news's sentiment using the following options.
Options: negative, positive

The S&P 500 is off almost 9% for the year-to-date, but the biggest decliners in the main benchmark of U.S. equity performance are faring far, far worse. From small, somewhat obscure members of the index to the planet's best-known and biggest stocks, the S&P 500's most beaten-down names do have at least a few commonalities.
negative