As of midday Wednesday, the Energy sector led market performance, rising by 4.9%. Key stocks include Baker Hughes Company (BKR), which gained 10.1%, and EQT Corp (EQT), which rose by 8.2%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) is up 4.2% for the day and 14.61% year-to-date, while Baker Hughes and EQT have respective year-to-date increases of 26.70% and 5.82%. Together, they comprise approximately 3.9% of XLE’s holdings.
The Financial sector also performed well, increasing by 3.5%. Noteworthy stocks include Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Discover Financial Services (DFS), which saw gains of 18.7% and 18.5%, respectively. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) is up 5.9% today and 32.81% year-to-date. Synchrony Financial’s year-to-date gain is 79.26%, while Discover’s is 61.99%; they account for about 0.6% of XLF’s holdings.
Overall, eight sectors of the S&P 500 are up today, with Utilities being the only sector down by 0.5%.
