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Friday Sector Leaders: Utilities, Financial

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In afternoon trading on Friday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, higher by 1.5%. Within the sector, Edison International (NYSE:EIX) and Entergy Corp (NYSE:ETR) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 2.7% and 2.6%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLU), which is up 1.4% on the day, and up 4.05% year-to-date. Edison International, meanwhile, is down 1.01% year-to-date, and Entergy Corp is up 6.30% year-to-date. Combined, EIX and ETR make up approximately 5.1% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

The next best performing sector is the Financial sector, higher by 1.3%. Among large Financial stocks, Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) and American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP) are the most notable, showing a gain of 5.8% and 5.6%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Financial stocks is the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF), which is up 1.4% in midday trading, and up 7.84% on a year-to-date basis. Fifth Third Bancorp, meanwhile, is up 6.00% year-to-date, and American Express Co. is up 23.30% year-to-date. Combined, FITB and AXP make up approximately 2.8% of the underlying holdings of XLF.

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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 Friday. As you can see, eight sectors are up on the day, while one sector is down.