Featured MNV Articles:

Thursday Sector Leaders: Materials, Technology & Communications

Play Video: The Importance of ETFs If the video does not load after a few moments, Upgrade to the Latest Flash Player.

Free Email Alerts By Stock: Get Dividend Alerts Get SEC Filing Alerts

The best performing sector as of midday Thursday is the Materials sector, up 1.2%. Within that group, Albemarle Corp. (NYSE:ALB) and Newmont Corp (NYSE:NEM) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 5.0% and 4.8%, respectively. Among the high volume ETFs, one ETF closely following materials stocks is the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLB), which is up 0.7% on the day, and up 2.31% year-to-date. Albemarle Corp., meanwhile, is down 4.00% year-to-date, and Newmont Corp, is down 24.37% year-to-date. Combined, ALB and NEM make up approximately 5.1% of the underlying holdings of XLB.

The next best performing sector is the Technology & Communications sector, higher by 1.1%. Among large Technology & Communications stocks, Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) are the most notable, showing a gain of 7.8% and 7.7%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Technology & Communications stocks is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK), which is up 0.8% in midday trading, and up 7.20% on a year-to-date basis. Enphase Energy Inc., meanwhile, is down 2.85% year-to-date, and Advanced Micro Devices Inc is up 28.93% year-to-date. Combined, ENPH and AMD make up approximately 3.2% of the underlying holdings of XLK.

Start slideshow:
25 Dividend Giants Widely Held By ETFs »

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, eight sectors are up on the day, while one sector is down.