In afternoon trading on Wednesday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, up 1.9%. Within the sector, Entergy Corp (Symbol: ETR) and American Electric Power Co Inc (Symbol: AEP) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is up 2.0% on the day, and up 14.27% year-to-date. Entergy Corp, meanwhile, is up 18.65% year-to-date, and American Electric Power Co Inc is up 21.50% year-to-date. Combined, ETR and AEP make up approximately 7.9% of the underlying holdings of XLU.
The next best performing sector is the Consumer Products sector, up 0.9%. Among large Consumer Products stocks, Campbell Soup Co (Symbol: CPB) and Under Armour Inc (Symbol: UAA) are the most notable, showing a gain of 9.0% and 4.0%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Consumer Products stocks is the iShares U.S. Consumer Goods ETF (IYK), which is up 1.0% in midday trading, and up 13.09% on a year-to-date basis. Campbell Soup Co, meanwhile, is up 28.01% year-to-date, and Under Armour Inc is up 45.39% year-to-date. Combined, CPB and UAA make up approximately 0.6% of the underlying holdings of IYK.
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, seven sectors are up on the day, while two sectors are down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Utilities | +1.9% |
| Consumer Products | +0.9% |
| Industrial | +0.9% |
| Financial | +0.8% |
| Healthcare | +0.6% |
| Technology & Communications | +0.4% |
| Services | +0.1% |
| Materials | -0.2% |
| Energy | -1.4% |
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