Midday Market Update: Utilities Lead Gains on Friday
As of midday Friday, Utilities companies are leading the market with a gain of 0.4%. Notable performers include Public Service Enterprise Group Inc (Symbol: PEG) with a 1.7% increase, and NextEra Energy Inc (Symbol: NEE) with a 1.4% rise. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), tracking the sector, is also up 0.4% today and shows an 8.33% gain year-to-date. Year-to-date performance for PEG stands at a decline of 3.47%, while NEE is down 1.63%. Together, PEG and NEE represent about 14.7% of XLU’s underlying holdings.
The Consumer Products sector follows closely, up 0.1%. Key stocks include Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (Symbol: LW) which increased by 2.8%, and General Motors Co (Symbol: GM) which rose by 2.6%. The iShares U.S. Consumer Goods ETF (IYK), tracking this sector, is up 0.8% today and has gained 9.74% year-to-date. However, Lamb Weston is down 15.49% year-to-date and General Motors is down 6.17%. LW accounts for approximately 0.3% of IYK’s underlying holdings.
For a twelve-month performance comparison, a detailed price performance chart is available below:
Here’s how the S&P 500 sectors are performing in afternoon trading on Friday. Currently, two sectors are up while six sectors are down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Utilities | +0.4% |
| Consumer Products | +0.1% |
| Services | -0.0% |
| Financial | -0.4% |
| Industrial | -0.5% |
| Technology & Communications | -0.8% |
| Healthcare | -0.9% |
| Materials | -1.0% |
| Energy | -1.2% |
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
