Friday Sector Leaders: Energy, Utilities

The best performing sector as of midday Friday is the Energy sector, higher by 1.1%. Within the sector, APA Corp (Symbol: APA) and EQT Corp (Symbol: EQT) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 3.5% and 2.9%, respectively. Among energy ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLE), which is up 1.2% on the day, and up 5.77% year-to-date. APA Corp, meanwhile, is down 31.13% year-to-date, and EQT Corp, is down 4.30% year-to-date. Combined, APA and EQT make up approximately 2.3% of the underlying holdings of XLE.

The next best performing sector is the Utilities sector, higher by 1.0%. Among large Utilities stocks, Vistra Corp (Symbol: VST) and AES Corp (Symbol: AES) are the most notable, showing a gain of 3.4% and 2.5%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Utilities stocks is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which is up 1.0% in midday trading, and up 29.57% on a year-to-date basis. Vistra Corp, meanwhile, is up 208.13% year-to-date, and AES Corp is up 7.24% year-to-date. Combined, VST and AES make up approximately 4.4% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

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, eight sectors are up on the day, while none of the sectors are down.

10 ETFs With Stocks That Insiders Are Buying »

Also see:

• Funds Holding ANTH
• Funds Holding ILB
• ORRF Insider Buying

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