In afternoon trading on Friday, Utilities stocks are the worst performing sector, showing a 0.2% loss. Within that group, American Water Works Co, Inc. (Symbol: AWK) and Sempra Energy (Symbol: SRE) are two large stocks that are lagging, showing a loss of 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is down 0.3% on the day, and down 7.69% year-to-date. American Water Works Co, Inc., meanwhile, is up 15.03% year-to-date, and Sempra Energy, is down 17.90% year-to-date. Combined, AWK and SRE make up approximately 7.5% of the underlying holdings of XLU.
The next worst performing sector is the Healthcare sector, showing a 0.2% loss. Among large Healthcare stocks, Hologic Inc (Symbol: HOLX) and ABIOMED, Inc. (Symbol: ABMD) are the most notable, showing a loss of 2.8% and 2.5%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Healthcare stocks is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which is down 0.3% in midday trading, and up 6.23% on a year-to-date basis. Hologic Inc, meanwhile, is up 14.57% year-to-date, and ABIOMED, Inc. is up 77.87% year-to-date. Combined, HOLX and ABMD make up approximately 0.7% of the underlying holdings of XLV.
Comparing these stocks and ETFs on a trailing twelve month basis, below is a relative stock price performance chart, with each of the symbols shown in a different color as labeled in the legend at the bottom:
Here's a snapshot of how the S&P 500 components within the various sectors are faring in afternoon trading on Friday. As you can see, seven sectors are up on the day, while two sectors are down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Energy | +1.6% |
| Industrial | +0.8% |
| Services | +0.7% |
| Technology & Communications | +0.7% |
| Materials | +0.7% |
| Consumer Products | +0.4% |
| Financial | +0.1% |
| Utilities | -0.2% |
| Healthcare | -0.2% |
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
