Friday Sector Laggards: Utilities, Financial

The worst performing sector as of midday Friday is the Utilities sector, showing a 0.6% loss. Within the sector, Eversource Energy (Symbol: ES) and NextEra Energy Inc (Symbol: NEE) are two large stocks that are lagging, showing a loss of 1.2% and 1.2%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is down 0.7% on the day, and down 7.63% year-to-date. Eversource Energy, meanwhile, is down 24.13% year-to-date, and NextEra Energy Inc, is down 25.85% year-to-date. Combined, ES and NEE make up approximately 15.6% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next worst performing sector is the Financial sector, showing a 0.5% loss. Among large Financial stocks, Marketaxess Holdings Inc (Symbol: MKTX) and Blackstone Inc (Symbol: BX) are the most notable, showing a loss of 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Financial stocks is the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF), which is down 0.3% in midday trading, and up 11.40% on a year-to-date basis. Marketaxess Holdings Inc, meanwhile, is up 3.32% year-to-date, and Blackstone Inc is up 76.37% year-to-date. Combined, MKTX and BX make up approximately 2.0% of the underlying holdings of XLF.

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, none of the sectors are up on the day, while nine sectors are down.

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