Thursday Sector Laggards: Utilities, Healthcare

Looking at the sectors faring worst as of midday Thursday, shares of Utilities companies are underperforming other sectors, showing a 1.5% loss. Within the sector, Duke Energy Corp (Symbol: DUK) and Pinnacle West Capital Corp (Symbol: PNW) are two large stocks that are lagging, showing a loss of 3.2% and 2.9%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is down 1.4% on the day, and down 5.88% year-to-date. Duke Energy Corp, meanwhile, is down 4.75% year-to-date, and Pinnacle West Capital Corp, is down 7.85% year-to-date. Combined, DUK and PNW make up approximately 8.9% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next worst performing sector is the Healthcare sector, showing a 0.5% loss. Among large Healthcare stocks, McKesson Corp (Symbol: MCK) and Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (Symbol: ZBH) are the most notable, showing a loss of 5.2% and 4.1%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Healthcare stocks is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which is down 0.4% in midday trading, and up 5.46% on a year-to-date basis. McKesson Corp, meanwhile, is up 5.89% year-to-date, and Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc is up 0.50% year-to-date. Combined, MCK and ZBH make up approximately 1.7% 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 Thursday. As you can see, six sectors are up on the day, while three sectors are down.

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