In afternoon trading on Friday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, up 0.7%. Within that group, AES Corp. (Symbol: AES) and Public Service Enterprise Group Inc (Symbol: PEG) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is up 0.7% on the day, and up 15.31% year-to-date. AES Corp., meanwhile, is up 20.39% year-to-date, and Public Service Enterprise Group Inc is up 18.75% year-to-date. Combined, AES and PEG make up approximately 5.1% of the underlying holdings of XLU.
The next best performing sector is the Financial sector, not showing much of a loss. Among large Financial stocks, Weyerhaeuser Co (Symbol: WY) and Ventas Inc (Symbol: VTR) are the most notable, showing a gain of 2.1% and 1.6%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Financial stocks is the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF), which is flat on the day in midday trading, and up 14.67% on a year-to-date basis. Weyerhaeuser Co, meanwhile, is up 21.17% year-to-date, and Ventas Inc is up 16.16% year-to-date.
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, one sector is up on the day, while seven sectors are down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Utilities | +0.7% |
| Financial | -0.0% |
| Services | -0.1% |
| Consumer Products | -0.3% |
| Healthcare | -0.6% |
| Industrial | -0.6% |
| Materials | -0.8% |
| Technology & Communications | -1.3% |
| Energy | -1.3% |
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
