Tuesday Sector Leaders: Utilities, Healthcare

In afternoon trading on Tuesday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, up 1.9%. Within that group, DTE Energy Co (Symbol: DTE) and Edison International (Symbol: EIX) are two of the day’s stand-outs, showing a gain of 2.9% and 2.9%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is up 1.8% on the day, and up 8.25% year-to-date. DTE Energy Co, meanwhile, is up 17.16% year-to-date, and Edison International, is down 6.98% year-to-date. Combined, DTE and EIX make up approximately 4.7% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next best performing sector is the Healthcare sector, up 0.1%. Among large Healthcare stocks, Boston Scientific Corp. (Symbol: BSX) and Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc (Symbol: BIO) are the most notable, showing a gain of 2.9% and 2.1%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Healthcare stocks is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which is up 0.1% in midday trading, and up 16.07% on a year-to-date basis. Boston Scientific Corp., meanwhile, is up 25.84% year-to-date, and Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc is up 20.10% year-to-date. Combined, BSX and BIO make up approximately 1.6% of the underlying holdings of XLV.

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 Tuesday. As you can see, two sectors are up on the day, while six sectors are down.

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