Technology Sector Leads Market Gains Midday Thursday

As of midday Thursday, the Technology & Communications sector is outperforming others, rising by 0.8%. Microsoft Corporation (Symbol: MSFT) and Arista Networks Inc (Symbol: ANET) are the standout performers within this category, with gains of 8.7% and 7.6%, respectively. The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLK), which tracks this sector, is up 2.3% today but remains down 7.44% year-to-date. In contrast, Microsoft has seen a year-to-date increase of 2.13%, while Arista is down 19.90%. Together, MSFT and ANET comprise about 15.9% of XLK’s holdings.

Utilities Sector Shows Stable Growth

Following technology, the Utilities sector ranks as the next best performer, climbing 0.4%. Noteworthy stocks in this sector include Constellation Energy Corp (Symbol: CEG), with an impressive gain of 8.2%, and Vistra Corp (Symbol: VST), which has risen by 6.3%. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which tracks utility stocks closely, is up 0.5% during midday trading and has a year-to-date increase of 5.52%. Year-to-date, Constellation is up 8.28%, while Vistra has made a slight increase of 0.12%. Together, CEG and VST account for approximately 9.9% of XLU’s holdings.

Performance Analysis Over the Past Twelve Months

To further analyze stock performance, we’ve compiled a chart comparing these stocks and ETFs over the trailing twelve months. Each symbol is color-coded as indicated in the legend below:

Here’s an overview of the S&P 500 components within various sectors during Thursday afternoon trading. Currently, six sectors have posted gains, while three sectors are showing losses.

Sector	% Change
Technology & Communications	+0.8%
Utilities	+0.4%
Energy	+0.4%
Industrial	+0.3%
Materials	+0.3%
Financial	+0.2%
Services	-0.1%
Consumer Products	-0.5%
Healthcare	-0.9%

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