Facebook, Google Aren’t Tech Stocks? What That Means for Investors

Changes by index providers mean that funds tracking the current telecom, tech and consumer-discretionary sectors will be forced to trade billions of dollars of shares to realign their holdings

The technology sector’s dominance of the stock market is about to face a big test.

Facebook Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. are expected to say goodbye in September to the highflying tech sector of the S&P 500. They will join a new communications-services group that will also house media giants such as Netflix Inc. and Comcast Corp. that now reside in the consumer-discretionary group.

This...