Friday Sector Leaders: Utilities, Healthcare

The best performing sector as of midday Friday is the Utilities sector, higher by 0.4%. Within the sector, CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE:CNP) and Dominion Energy Inc (NYSE:D) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLU), which is up 0.5% on the day, and up 4.59% year-to-date. CenterPoint Energy, Inc, meanwhile, is up 18.44% year-to-date, and Dominion Energy Inc is up 1.98% year-to-date. Combined, CNP and D make up approximately 8.2% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next best performing sector is the Healthcare sector, higher by 0.3%. Among large Healthcare stocks, DexCom Inc (NASDAQ:DXCM) and Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) are the most notable, showing a gain of 1.9% and 1.6%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Healthcare stocks is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which is up 0.4% in midday trading, and up 9.29% on a year-to-date basis. DexCom Inc, meanwhile, is down 0.22% year-to-date, and Boston Scientific Corp. is up 18.57% year-to-date. Combined, DXCM and BSX make up approximately 2.1% 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 Friday. As you can see, six sectors are up on the day, while three sectors are down.