Looking at the sectors faring best as of midday Tuesday, shares of Technology & Communications companies are outperforming other sectors, higher by 2.0%. Within the sector, Xilinx, Inc. (NASD: XLNX) and Western Digital Corp (NASD: WDC) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 6.0% and 4.0%, respectively. Among technology ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (AMEX: XLK), which is up 1.9% on the day, and up 1.95% year-to-date. Xilinx, Inc., meanwhile, is up 2.68% year-to-date, and Western Digital Corp, is down 29.06% year-to-date. Combined, XLNX and WDC make up approximately 0.6% of the underlying holdings of XLK.
The next best performing sector is the Healthcare sector, higher by 1.5%. Among large Healthcare stocks, Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASD: GILD) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASD: VRTX) are the most notable, showing a gain of 3.4% and 3.4%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Healthcare stocks is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which is up 1.4% in midday trading, and down 1.95% on a year-to-date basis. Gilead Sciences, Inc., meanwhile, is down 14.46% year-to-date, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is down 30.64% year-to-date. Combined, GILD and VRTX make up approximately 5.1% of the underlying holdings of XLV.
Click here to find out 25 Dividend Giants Widely Held By ETFs »
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 |
|---|---|
| Technology & Communications | +2.0% |
| Healthcare | +1.5% |
| Financial | +1.4% |
| Consumer Products | +1.3% |
| Services | +1.3% |
| Industrial | +1.3% |
| Energy | +0.6% |
| Utilities | +0.5% |
| Materials | +0.3% |
