Looking at the sectors faring worst as of midday Wednesday, shares of Energy companies are underperforming other sectors, showing a 2.0% loss. Within that group, Hess Corp (Symbol: HES) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (Symbol: OXY) are two large stocks that are lagging, showing a loss of 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively. Among energy ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLE), which is down 1.7% on the day, and down 38.48% year-to-date. Hess Corp, meanwhile, is down 29.76% year-to-date, and Occidental Petroleum Corp, is down 66.49% year-to-date. Combined, HES and OXY make up approximately 3.8% of the underlying holdings of XLE.
The next worst performing sector is the Utilities sector, showing a 1.5% loss. Among large Utilities stocks, Consolidated Edison Inc (Symbol: ED) and NRG Energy Inc (Symbol: NRG) are the most notable, showing a loss of 3.0% and 2.8%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Utilities stocks is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which is down 1.3% in midday trading, and down 7.84% on a year-to-date basis. Consolidated Edison Inc, meanwhile, is down 19.16% year-to-date, and NRG Energy Inc, is down 13.22% year-to-date. Combined, ED and NRG make up approximately 3.9% of the underlying holdings of XLU.
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 Wednesday. As you can see, four sectors are up on the day, while five sectors are down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Technology & Communications | +1.3% |
| Materials | +0.4% |
| Services | +0.2% |
| Industrial | +0.1% |
| Consumer Products | -0.2% |
| Healthcare | -0.3% |
| Financial | -1.1% |
| Utilities | -1.5% |
| Energy | -2.0% |
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
