- Utilities stocks are broadly rebounding from recent declines and a day after the Utilities SPDR ETF (XLU +0.7%) fell as much as 3.4% yesterday to its lowest point since December 2016.
- Any utilities rally is hardly a given, since the group's selloff has been driven by fears that stronger inflation would push yields higher, which would make dividend oriented utilities less attractive.
- XLU fell 3.1% from the start of the year through the Jan. 26 high on the S&P 500, which had gained 7.5%; since then, utilities have lost only a bit less than the broader market, 4.3% vs. 5.2%.
- Sector stocks are off earlier highs but remain in the green: PPL +1.6%, SRE +1.4%, PEG +1.4%, DUK +1%, DTE +0.9%, AEE +0.8%, D +0.8%, SO +0.7%, WEC +0.5%, SCG +0.5%, NEE +0.4%, AEP +0.4%, EXC +0.3%, EIX +0.3%, PCG +0.3%.
- ETFs: XLU, UTG, VPU, GUT, IDU, BUI, FUTY, RYU, UPW, FXU, SDP, FUGAX, JHMU, UTLF