Friday Sector Leaders: Services, Technology & Communications

In afternoon trading on Friday, Services stocks are the best performing sector, higher by 1.5%. Within the sector, Carmax Inc. (Symbol: KMX) and Caesars Entertainment Inc (Symbol: CZR) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 4.4% and 3.4%, respectively. Among the largest ETFs, one ETF closely following services stocks is the iShares U.S. Consumer Services ETF (Symbol: IYC), which is up 1.7% on the day, and up 13.45% year-to-date. Carmax Inc., meanwhile, is up 5.16% year-to-date, and Caesars Entertainment Inc is up 14.67% year-to-date. Combined, KMX and CZR make up approximately 0.4% of the underlying holdings of IYC.

The next best performing sector is the Technology & Communications sector, higher by 1.2%. Among large Technology & Communications stocks, ServiceNow Inc (Symbol: NOW) and Ceridian HCM Holding Inc (Symbol: CDAY) are the most notable, showing a gain of 4.9% and 4.1%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Technology & Communications stocks is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK), which is up 1.0% in midday trading, and up 22.25% on a year-to-date basis. ServiceNow Inc, meanwhile, is up 19.61% year-to-date, and Ceridian HCM Holding Inc is up 18.60% year-to-date. Combined, NOW and CDAY make up approximately 1.4% of the underlying holdings of XLK.

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

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