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Thursday Sector Laggards: Services, Utilities

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Looking at the sectors faring worst as of midday Thursday, shares of Services companies are underperforming other sectors, not showing much of a gain. Within that group, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) and lululemon athletica inc (NASDAQ:LULU) are two of the day's laggards, showing a loss of 8.0% and 2.6%, respectively. Among the largest ETFs, one ETF closely following services stocks is the iShares U.S. Consumer Services ETF (NYSE:IYC), which is up 0.6% on the day, and up 7.10% year-to-date. Paramount Global, meanwhile, is down 15.58% year-to-date, and lululemon athletica inc, is down 28.77% year-to-date. Combined, PARA and LULU make up approximately 0.9% of the underlying holdings of IYC.

The next worst performing sector is the Utilities sector, not showing much of a gain. Among large Utilities stocks, Southern Company (NYSE:SO) and Alliant Energy Corp (NASDAQ:LNT) are the most notable, showing a loss of 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Utilities stocks is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which is up 0.1% in midday trading, and up 3.70% on a year-to-date basis. Southern Company, meanwhile, is up 1.13% year-to-date, and Alliant Energy Corp, is down 3.59% year-to-date. Combined, SO and LNT make up approximately 9.2% 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, seven sectors are up on the day, while none of the sectors are down.