In afternoon trading on Wednesday, Energy stocks are the worst performing sector, showing a 1.6% loss. Within that group, Devon Energy Corp. (Symbol: DVN) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (Symbol: OXY) are two large stocks that are lagging, showing a loss of 4.2% and 4.1%, respectively. Among energy ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLE), which is down 2.0% on the day, and up 38.08% year-to-date. Devon Energy Corp., meanwhile, is up 37.04% year-to-date, and Occidental Petroleum Corp is up 116.20% year-to-date. Combined, DVN and OXY make up approximately 7.2% of the underlying holdings of XLE.
The next worst performing sector is the Utilities sector, higher by 0.3%. Among large Utilities stocks, Exelon Corp (Symbol: EXC) and Atmos Energy Corp. (Symbol: ATO) are the most notable, showing a loss of 3.3% and 0.7%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Utilities stocks is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which is up 0.5% in midday trading, and up 5.08% on a year-to-date basis. Exelon Corp, meanwhile, is up 9.24% year-to-date, and Atmos Energy Corp. is up 15.18% year-to-date. Combined, EXC and ATO make up approximately 5.7% 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 Wednesday. As you can see, eight sectors are up on the day, while one sector is down.
| Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Technology & Communications | +1.8% |
| Services | +1.7% |
| Financial | +1.3% |
| Industrial | +1.3% |
| Consumer Products | +1.0% |
| Healthcare | +0.8% |
| Materials | +0.4% |
| Utilities | +0.3% |
| Energy | -1.6% |
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
