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Wednesday Sector Leaders: Utilities, Healthcare

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In afternoon trading on Wednesday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, up 1.2%. Within that group, Sempra (NYSE:SRE) and Consolidated Edison Inc (NYSE:ED) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 3.0% and 1.8%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLU), which is up 1.4% on the day, and up 4.29% year-to-date. Sempra, meanwhile, is up 2.52% year-to-date, and Consolidated Edison Inc is up 4.84% year-to-date. Combined, SRE and ED make up approximately 7.3% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next best performing sector is the Healthcare sector, up 0.7%. Among large Healthcare stocks, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) are the most notable, showing a gain of 3.5% and 2.3%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Healthcare stocks is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which is up 0.9% in midday trading, and up 14.48% on a year-to-date basis. Eli Lilly, meanwhile, is up 37.41% year-to-date, and Merck & Co Inc, is down 1.45% year-to-date. Combined, LLY and MRK make up approximately 7.5% of the underlying holdings of XLV.

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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 Wednesday. As you can see, seven sectors are up on the day, while two sectors are down.

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