Defensive sectors led throughout this week as the Market absorbed data that showed a slowing economic recovery and meeting minutes from the Fed that indicated tapering could begin this year.
Utilities (XLU) and Health Care (XLV) exchanged the lead several times, and the finish was close. Utilities came out on top as a favorite place for investors to keep money in equities, but take a defensive stance toward the economy. Health Care also did well as the world watches another wave of the pandemic brought on by the Delta variant of COVID.
Technology (XLK) also mixed in with the defensive sectors at the top of the list. Big tech seems to be another safe play for equity investors with Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), and Alphabet (GOOGL) all turning in strong financials and appear resilient to new waves of lockdowns.
Suffering the most from fears of economic slowdown as well as the pandemic, Energy (XLE) came in the last place for the week with a huge loss of over 7%.