Thursday Sector Leaders: Technology & Communications, Services

The best performing sector as of midday Thursday is the Technology & Communications sector, up 0.9%. Within the sector, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (Symbol: TTWO) and Synopsys Inc (Symbol: SNPS) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 12.6% and 7.8%, respectively. Among technology ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLK), which is up 1.2% on the day, and up 27.03% year-to-date. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., meanwhile, is up 36.49% year-to-date, and Synopsys Inc is up 27.16% year-to-date. SNPS makes up approximately 0.8% of the underlying holdings of XLK.

The next best performing sector is the Services sector, up 0.3%. Among large Services stocks, Netflix Inc (Symbol: NFLX) and Bath & Body Works Inc (Symbol: BBWI) are the most notable, showing a gain of 9.2% and 9.2%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Services stocks is the iShares U.S. Consumer Services ETF (IYC), which is up 0.7% in midday trading, and up 14.97% on a year-to-date basis. Netflix Inc, meanwhile, is up 25.81% year-to-date, and Bath & Body Works Inc, is down 13.56% year-to-date. Combined, NFLX and BBWI make up approximately 3.4% of the underlying holdings of IYC.

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, two sectors are up on the day, while six sectors are down.

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