Thursday Sector Leaders: Utilities, Technology & Communications

The best performing sector as of midday Thursday is the Utilities sector, up 0.9%. Within that group, Atmos Energy Corp. (Symbol: ATO) and Constellation Energy Corp (Symbol: CEG) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 4.1% and 4.0%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is up 0.9% on the day, and down 1.89% year-to-date. Atmos Energy Corp., meanwhile, is up 6.38% year-to-date, and Constellation Energy Corp, is down 2.51% year-to-date. Combined, ATO and CEG make up approximately 4.2% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next best performing sector is the Technology & Communications sector, losing just 0.4%. Among large Technology & Communications stocks, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (Symbol: AMD) and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (Symbol: CTSH) are the most notable, showing a gain of 8.2% and 7.2%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Technology & Communications stocks is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK), which is down 0.2% in midday trading, and up 20.31% on a year-to-date basis. Advanced Micro Devices Inc, meanwhile, is up 37.96% year-to-date, and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. is up 10.09% year-to-date. Combined, AMD and CTSH make up approximately 2.3% 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:

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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, one sector is up on the day, while eight sectors are down.

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