Thursday Sector Leaders: Energy, Utilities

In afternoon trading on Thursday, Energy stocks are the best performing sector, up 1.2%. Within that group, EQT Corp (NYSE:EQT) and APA Corp (NASDAQ:APA) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 3.3% and 2.3%, respectively. Among energy ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLE), which is up 1.0% on the day, and up 13.41% year-to-date. EQT Corp, meanwhile, is down 3.20% year-to-date, and APA Corp, is down 3.15% year-to-date. Combined, EQT and APA make up approximately 1.6% of the underlying holdings of XLE.

The next best performing sector is the Utilities sector, higher by 0.7%. Among large Utilities stocks, AES Corp (NYSE:AES) and Edison International (NYSE:EIX) are the most notable, showing a gain of 2.6% and 1.6%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Utilities stocks is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which is up 0.6% in midday trading, and up 4.35% on a year-to-date basis. AES Corp, meanwhile, is down 7.18% year-to-date, and Edison International, is down 0.29% year-to-date. Combined, AES and EIX make up approximately 3.9% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

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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 Thursday. As you can see, nine sectors are up on the day, while none of the sectors are down.