The best performing sector as of midday Tuesday is the Healthcare sector, up 1.4%. Within that group, Actavis (NYSE: ACT) and Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) are two of the day's stand-outs, showing a gain of 7.0% and 3.9%, respectively. Among healthcare ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (AMEX: XLV), which is up 1.5% on the day, and up 24.92% year-to-date. Actavis, meanwhile, is up 57.87% year-to-date, and Medtronic, is up 27.34% year-to-date. Combined, ACT and MDT make up approximately 5.6% of the underlying holdings of XLV.
The next best performing sector is the Materials sector, up 1.0%. Among large Materials stocks, Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) and Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) are the most notable, showing a gain of 3.5% and 2.9%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Materials stocks is the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB), which is up 1.1% in midday trading, and up 9.26% on a year-to-date basis. Mosaic, meanwhile, is up 0.72% year-to-date, and Newmont Mining, is down 13.20% year-to-date. Combined, MOS and NEM make up approximately 4.2% of the underlying holdings of XLB.
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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 Tuesday. As you can see, nine sectors are up on the day, while none of the sectors are down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Healthcare | +1.4% |
| Materials | +1.0% |
| Technology & Communications | +0.9% |
| Industrial | +0.8% |
| Utilities | +0.7% |
| Financial | +0.7% |
| Energy | +0.6% |
| Consumer Products | +0.5% |
| Services | +0.3% |
