Overview Defensive and energy sectors outperformed this week, while growth-oriented areas of the market faced headwinds. Consumer Staples led with a gain of +3.8% on the week, while Information Technology lagged, declining -6.6%. The week’s performance suggests a rotation toward value and sectors benefiting from rising commodity prices, as evidenced by a +9.1% move in oil.
Energy led all sectors this week, posting a +3.4% gain, bringing its year-to-date return to +49.5%. The sector’s strong performance aligns with the significant increase in oil prices, suggesting continued demand and potentially limited supply are driving gains. Energy remains the clear YTD leader, significantly outpacing all other sectors.
Information Technology experienced the largest weekly decline, falling -6.6% despite a +27.1% year-to-date return. This pullback follows a period of strong performance for the sector, and may reflect profit-taking or increased sensitivity to rising interest rates as indicated by gains in long Treasuries.
Health Care demonstrated resilience with a +2.7% weekly gain and a +13.6% year-to-date return. While not leading the market, Health Care’s consistent performance suggests it continues to benefit from its defensive characteristics and relatively stable demand profile. This performance stands in contrast to the more cyclical Consumer Discretionary sector, which is down -5.0% YTD despite a small +0.2% gain this week.
| Sector | Week | YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Consumer Staples (XLP) | +3.8% | +12.8% |
| 2 | Energy (XLE) | +3.4% | +49.5% |
| 3 | Materials (XLB) | +3.0% | +10.4% |
| 4 | Health Care (XLV) | +2.7% | +13.6% |
| 5 | Utilities (XLU) | +1.4% | -2.2% |
| 6 | Financials (XLF) | +0.9% | +1.1% |
| 7 | Real Estate (XLRE) | +0.6% | +4.4% |
| 8 | Consumer Discretionary (XLY) | +0.2% | -5.0% |
| 9 | Industrials (XLI) | -0.8% | +6.2% |
| 10 | Communication Services (XLC) | -1.0% | -5.6% |
| 11 | Information Technology (XLK) | -6.6% | +27.1% |
Our sector-rotation model is leaning into Energy, Consumer Staples/Defensive, Healthcare/Defensive — the sectors clearing our momentum, above-trend, and relative-strength filters. We rotate weekly and hold no view on the sectors we are not in.