In afternoon trading on Friday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, up 0.8%. Within the sector, NRG Energy Inc (Symbol: NRG) and Ameren Corp (Symbol: AEE) are two of the day’s stand-outs, showing a gain of 2.0% and 1.3%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs , one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is up 0.1% on the day, and up 5.74% year-to-date. NRG Energy Inc, meanwhile, is up 49.14% year-to-date, and Ameren Corp is up 5.76% year-to-date. Combined, NRG and AEE make up approximately 3.0% of the underlying holdings of XLU.
The next best performing sector is the Materials sector, higher by 0.7%. Among large Materials stocks, CF Industries Holdings Inc (Symbol: CF) and Albemarle Corp. (Symbol: ALB) are the most notable, showing a gain of 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Materials stocks is the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLB ), which is up 0.3% in midday trading, and up 5.51% on a year-to-date basis. CF Industries Holdings Inc, meanwhile, is down 5.69% year-to-date, and Albemarle Corp. is up 23.97% year-to-date. Combined, CF and ALB make up approximately 3.3% of the underlying holdings of XLB.
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 Friday. As you can see, seven sectors are up on the day, while two sectors are down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Utilities | +0.8% |
| Materials | +0.7% |
| Industrial | +0.4% |
| Technology & Communications | +0.3% |
| Services | +0.2% |
| Healthcare | +0.2% |
| Consumer Products | +0.1% |
| Financial | -0.2% |
| Energy | -0.2% |
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Plantations International