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The best performing sector as of midday Tuesday is the Financial sector, higher by 0.8%. Within that group, Principal Financial Group Inc (Symbol: PFG) and Citigroup Inc (Symbol: C) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 3.3% and 2.8%, respectively. Among financial ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLF), which is up 1.1% on the day, and up 12.26% year-to-date. Principal Financial Group Inc, meanwhile, is up 4.84% year-to-date, and Citigroup Inc is up 31.43% year-to-date. Combined, PFG and C make up approximately 2.5% of the underlying holdings of XLF.

The next best performing sector is the Utilities sector, up 0.7%. Among large Utilities stocks, PG&E Corp (Symbol: PCG) and NiSource Inc. (Symbol: NI) are the most notable, showing a gain of 1.8% and 1.8%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Utilities stocks is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which is up 0.6% in midday trading, and up 10.73% on a year-to-date basis. PG&E Corp, meanwhile, is down 2.94% year-to-date, and NiSource Inc. is up 11.49% year-to-date. Combined, PCG and NI make up approximately 4.8% of the underlying holdings of XLU.

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, three sectors are up on the day, while three sectors are down.

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