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In afternoon trading on Wednesday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, higher by 2.0%. Within the sector, Eversource Energy (Symbol: ES) and CenterPoint Energy, Inc (Symbol: CNP) are two of the day's stand-outs, showing a gain of 3.6% and 3.0%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLU), which is up 2.0% on the day, and up 2.96% year-to-date. Eversource Energy, meanwhile, is down 4.35% year-to-date, and CenterPoint Energy, Inc, is down 1.14% year-to-date. Combined, ES and CNP make up approximately 4.1% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next best performing sector is the Materials sector, higher by 1.2%. Among large Materials stocks, Albemarle Corp. (Symbol: ALB) and Mosaic Co (Symbol: MOS) are the most notable, showing a gain of 7.6% and 4.4%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Materials stocks is the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB), which is up 0.8% in midday trading, and up 8.09% on a year-to-date basis. Albemarle Corp., meanwhile, is down 11.07% year-to-date, and Mosaic Co, is down 10.33% year-to-date. Combined, ALB and MOS make up approximately 2.4% 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 Wednesday. As you can see, nine sectors are up on the day, while none of the 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.