Tuesday Sector Leaders: Utilities, Healthcare

In afternoon trading on Tuesday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, up 0.4%. Within that group, Constellation Energy Corp (Symbol: CEG) and AES Corp (Symbol: AES) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is up 0.4% on the day, and up 23.25% year-to-date. Constellation Energy Corp, meanwhile, is up 53.19% year-to-date, and AES Corp, is down 11.77% year-to-date. Combined, CEG and AES make up approximately 5.7% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next best performing sector is the Healthcare sector, higher by 0.3%. Among large Healthcare stocks, Molina Healthcare Inc (Symbol: MOH) and Moderna Inc (Symbol: MRNA) are the most notable, showing a gain of 3.6% and 3.0%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Healthcare stocks is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which is up 0.3% in midday trading, and up 14.85% on a year-to-date basis. Molina Healthcare Inc, meanwhile, is down 7.18% year-to-date, and Moderna Inc, is down 20.62% year-to-date. Combined, MOH and MRNA make up approximately 0.8% 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, three sectors are up on the day, while six sectors are down. Sector% ChangeUtilities+0.4%Healthcare+0.3%Technology & Communications+0.1%Industrial-0.4%Materials-0.5%Services-0.6%Financial-0.6%Consumer Products-0.9%Energy-2.0%

25 Dividend Giants Widely Held By ETFs »

Also see:

• Top Ten Hedge Funds Holding PIII
• MODV Videos
• ACM Historical Stock Prices

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.