Tuesday Sector Leaders: Utilities, Materials

The best performing sector as of midday Tuesday is the Utilities sector, losing just 0.1%. Within that group, Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) and Southern Company (NYSE: SO) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 1.9% and 1.6%, respectively. Among utilities ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (AMEX: XLU), which is up 0.2% on the day, and down 0.55% year-to-date. Duke Energy, meanwhile, is up 1.08% year-to-date, and Southern Company is up 1.75% year...