Tuesday Sector Leaders: Healthcare, Technology & Communications

In afternoon trading on Tuesday, Healthcare stocks are the best performing sector, higher by 2.3%. Within that group, Hologic Inc (Symbol: HOLX) and Align Technology Inc (Symbol: ALGN) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 13.9% and 4.6%, respectively. Among healthcare ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLV), which is up 1.5% on the day, and down 3.41% year-to-date. Hologic Inc, meanwhile, is down 14.27% year-to-date, and Align Technology Inc, is down 14.29% year-to-date. Combined, HOLX and ALGN make up approximately 0.5% of the underlying holdings of XLV.

The next best performing sector is the Technology & Communications sector, up 2.1%. Among large Technology & Communications stocks, Super Micro Computer Inc (Symbol: SMCI) and ON Semiconductor Corp (Symbol: ON) are the most notable, showing a gain of 7.0% and 6.2%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Technology & Communications stocks is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK), which is up 2.5% in midday trading, and up 0.10% on a year-to-date basis. Super Micro Computer Inc, meanwhile, is up 40.75% year-to-date, and ON Semiconductor Corp, is down 30.52% year-to-date. Combined, SMCI and ON make up approximately 0.4% of the underlying holdings of XLK.

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 Tuesday. As you can see, nine sectors are up on the day, while none of the sectors are down.

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Also see:

• SONM YTD Return
• Funds Holding ENH
• MCK Insider Buying

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