Looking at the sectors faring best as of midday Monday, shares of Utilities companies are outperforming other sectors, losing just 0.2%. Within that group, American Electric Power Co Inc (Symbol: AEP) and Consolidated Edison Inc (Symbol: ED) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 2.0% and 1.2%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is down 0.2% on the day, and up 2.26% year-to-date. American Electric Power Co Inc, meanwhile, is up 1.43% year-to-date, and Consolidated Edison Inc, is down 6.16% year-to-date. Combined, AEP and ED make up approximately 8.1% of the underlying holdings of XLU.
The next best performing sector is the Healthcare sector, losing just 1.6%. Among large Healthcare stocks, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Symbol: REGN) and ABIOMED, Inc. (Symbol: ABMD) are the most notable, showing a gain of 0.9% and 0.9%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Healthcare stocks is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which is down 1.5% in midday trading, and up 5.49% on a year-to-date basis. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., meanwhile, is up 55.76% year-to-date, and ABIOMED, Inc. is up 66.51% year-to-date. Combined, REGN and ABMD make up approximately 1.8% 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 Monday. As you can see, none of the sectors are up on the day, while nine sectors are down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Utilities | -0.2% |
| Healthcare | -1.6% |
| Consumer Products | -2.6% |
| Financial | -2.7% |
| Technology & Communications | -2.8% |
| Materials | -2.8% |
| Services | -3.1% |
| Industrial | -3.1% |
| Energy | -4.8% |
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
