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05 April
Friday Sector Laggards: Utilities, Consumer Products

In afternoon trading on Friday, Utilities stocks are the worst performing sector, showing a 0.3% loss. Within that group, American Water Works Co, Inc. (Symbol: AWK) and WEC Energy Group Inc (Symbol: WEC) are two large stocks that are lagging, showing a loss of 2.0% and 1.6%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is flat on the day on the day, and up 3.37% year-to-date. American Water Works Co, Inc., meanwhile, is down 10.08% year-to-date, and WEC Energy Group Inc, is down 4.23% year-to-date. Combined, AWK and WEC make up approximately 5.0% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next worst performing sector is the Consumer Products sector, showing a 0.2% loss. Among large Consumer Products stocks, Tesla Inc (Symbol: TSLA) and Hormel Foods Corp. (Symbol: HRL) are the most notable, showing a loss of 3.5% and 1.6%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Consumer Products stocks is the iShares U.S. Consumer Goods ETF (IYK), which is flat on the day in midday trading, and up 3.05% on a year-to-date basis. Tesla Inc, meanwhile, is down 33.52% year-to-date, and Hormel Foods Corp. is up 8.70% year-to-date. HRL makes up approximately 0.5% of the underlying holdings of IYK.

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, seven sectors are up on the day, while two sectors are down.

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