In afternoon trading on Thursday, Utilities stocks are the best performing sector, up 0.8%. Within that group, AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE: GAS) and Ameren Corp. (NYSE: AEE) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 1.9% and 1.7%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (AMEX: XLU), which is up 0.8% on the day, and up 11.13% year-to-date. AGL Resources Inc., meanwhile, is up 14.69% year-to-date, and Ameren Corp. is up 8.08% year-to-date. Combined, GAS and AEE make up approximately 3.0% of the underlying holdings of XLU.
Source: Markets