Monday Sector Leaders: Utilities, Technology & Communications

The best performing sector as of midday Monday is the Utilities sector, up 0.9%. Within that group, AES Corp (Symbol: AES) and PG&E Corp (Symbol: PCG) are two of the day's stand-outs, showing a gain of 3.2% and 1.8%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is up 0.8% on the day, and up 0.46% year-to-date. AES Corp, meanwhile, is up 2.55% year-to-date, and PG&E Corp, is down 4.98% year-to-date. Combined, AES and PCG make up approximately 3.3% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next best performing sector is the Technology & Communications sector, higher by 0.7%. Among large Technology & Communications stocks, Arista Networks Inc (Symbol: ANET) and Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (Symbol: STX) are the most notable, showing a gain of 5.8% and 4.9%, 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 1.79% on a year-to-date basis. Arista Networks Inc, meanwhile, is up 10.12% year-to-date, and Seagate Technology Holdings PLC is up 31.86% year-to-date. Combined, ANET and STX make up approximately 1.9% 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 Monday. As you can see, four sectors are up on the day, while three sectors are down.

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Also see:

• MTCR YTD Return
• Top Ten Hedge Funds Holding TLGA
• BNS YTD Return

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.