In afternoon trading on Wednesday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, higher by 2.5%. Within that group, Exelon Corp (Symbol: EXC) and NextEra Energy Inc (Symbol: NEE) are two of the day’s stand-outs, showing a gain of 4.2% and 4.0%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is up 2.8% on the day, and down 5.35% year-to-date. Exelon Corp, meanwhile, is down 14.48% year-to-date, and NextEra Energy Inc is up 20.70% year-to-date. Combined, EXC and NEE make up approximately 21.1% of the underlying holdings of XLU.
The next best performing sector is the Technology & Communications sector, up 1.9%. Among large Technology & Communications stocks, DXC Technology Co (Symbol: DXC) and Twitter Inc (Symbol: TWTR) are the most notable, showing a gain of 8.0% and 5.0%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Technology & Communications stocks is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK), which is up 0.6% in midday trading, and up 38.85% on a year-to-date basis. DXC Technology Co, meanwhile, is down 41.89% year-to-date, and Twitter Inc is up 34.74% year-to-date. DXC makes up approximately 0.1% 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:
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, eight sectors are up on the day, while one sector is down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Utilities | +2.5% |
| Technology & Communications | +1.9% |
| Healthcare | +1.7% |
| Consumer Products | +1.4% |
| Materials | +1.1% |
| Financial | +1.0% |
| Industrial | +0.9% |
| Services | +0.7% |
| Energy | -1.0% |
10 ETFs With Stocks That Insiders Are Buying »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
