The best performing sector as of midday Friday is the Financial sector, higher by 1.4%. Within that group, American International Group Inc (Symbol: AIG) and Unum Group (Symbol: UNM) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 4.9% and 4.3%, respectively. Among financial ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLF), which is up 1.9% on the day, and up 29.31% year-to-date. American International Group Inc, meanwhile, is up 36.52% year-to-date, and Unum Group is up 19.70% year-to-date. Combined, AIG and UNM make up approximately 1.2% of the underlying holdings of XLF.
The next best performing sector is the Materials sector, up 1.4%. Among large Materials stocks, Ball Corp (Symbol: BLL) and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (Symbol: FCX) are the most notable, showing a gain of 6.8% and 3.1%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Materials stocks is the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB), which is up 1.4% in midday trading, and up 17.08% on a year-to-date basis. Ball Corp, meanwhile, is down 7.05% year-to-date, and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold is up 42.68% year-to-date. Combined, BLL and FCX make up approximately 8.4% of the underlying holdings of XLB.
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 one sector is down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Financial | +1.4% |
| Materials | +1.4% |
| Energy | +1.2% |
| Utilities | +0.7% |
| Industrial | +0.6% |
| Consumer Products | +0.5% |
| Technology & Communications | +0.2% |
| Healthcare | +0.1% |
| Services | -0.1% |
10 ETFs With Stocks That Insiders Are Buying »
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
