Monday Sector Leaders: Healthcare, Utilities

In afternoon trading on Monday, Healthcare stocks are the best performing sector, up 2.0%. Within that group, Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE: EW) and Amgen Inc (NASD: AMGN) are two of the day's stand-outs, showing a gain of 10.1% and 5.0%, respectively. Among healthcare ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (AMEX: XLV), which is up 2.0% on the day, and up 7.12% year-to-date. Edwards Lifesciences Corp, meanwhile, is up 16.96% year-to-date, and Amgen Inc is up 2.13% year-to-date. Combined, EW and AMGN make up approximately 4.9% of the underlying holdings of XLV.

The next best performing sector is the Utilities sector, higher by 1.5%. Among large Utilities stocks, PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) and NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE: NEE) are the most notable, showing a gain of 3.4% and 2.5%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Utilities stocks is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which is up 1.6% in midday trading, and down 6.42% on a year-to-date basis. PG&E Corp. , meanwhile, is up 0.64% year-to-date, and NextEra Energy Inc, is down 2.24% year-to-date. Combined, PCG and NEE make up approximately 13.0% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

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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 Monday. As you can see, eight sectors are up on the day, while one sector is down.