Apple's Stock Surge Helps Technology Stand Out During The Third Quarter

The technology sector was by far the best performer of the S&P 500's 10 sectors during the third quarter, with the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF running up 10.5% over the past three months. That would be the best quarterly performance for the tech-sector tracker (XLK) since it shot up 10.8% during the fourth quarter of 2013. Apple Inc.'s stock , the XLK's most heavily-weighted component, surged 18.5% since the end of June, marking the best quarterly performance since the second-quarter of 2014. Among other XLK heavyweights, shares of Microsoft Corp. climbed 12.7%, Facebook Inc. ran up 12.5%, AT&T Inc. dropped 5.8% and Alphabet Inc. tacked on 14.8%. The second-best sector industrials, with the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF up 4.5%, while the worst performer was untilities, as the SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF dows 6.7%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 gained 3.6% during the third quarter.