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Thursday Sector Leaders: Technology & Communications, Industrial

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The best performing sector as of midday Thursday is the Technology & Communications sector, up 1.4%. Within that group, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) and Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 16.4% and 8.2%, respectively. Among technology ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLK), which is up 0.3% on the day, and up 9.48% year-to-date. Micron Technology Inc., meanwhile, is up 31.40% year-to-date, and Super Micro Computer Inc is up 241.24% year-to-date. Combined, MU and SMCI make up approximately 1.7% of the underlying holdings of XLK.

The next best performing sector is the Industrial sector, higher by 1.1%. Among large Industrial stocks, Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) and Stanley Black & Decker Inc (NYSE:SWK) are the most notable, showing a gain of 4.0% and 3.1%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Industrial stocks is the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI), which is up 1.0% in midday trading, and up 10.58% on a year-to-date basis. Lam Research Corp, meanwhile, is up 26.26% year-to-date, and Stanley Black & Decker Inc, is down 1.94% year-to-date. SWK makes up approximately 0.4% of the underlying holdings of XLI.

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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, nine sectors are up on the day, while none of the sectors are down.