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Sector Winners and Losers week ending 2/5Energy (XLE) was back on top for the first week of February. The sector benefited from higher than expected demand in oil that also raise crude oil prices throughout the week. Technology (XLK) started the week in the lead, having a strong Monday. The Consumer Discretionary (XLY) took the lead on Tuesday. Financials (XLF) briefly moved to the top spot on Thursday, but was soon passed by Energy again. Health Care (XLV) was at the bottom of the list for the week. Materials (XLB) was the worst performing sector on Thursday, but led the sectors on Friday.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 1/22Communications (XLC) led the week with a big +5.44% gain, but only after a big pullback the week prior. The sector was led by Alphabet (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) with +9.55% and +9.21% gains respectively. Those two companies make up 44% of the ETF. Netflix (NFLX) also had a huge gain of +13.49% but only represents 5% of the ETF. Technology (XLK) finished the week in second place, also with the mega-caps, Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) contributing the most to the gains. Financials (XLF) continued to underperform as more financial institutions reported earnings and disappointed investors. Energy (XLE) was the worst performing sector of the week. There is probably some influence from the new administration policies. However, the more immediate impact was from surprise surplus in oil supplies, signaling much lower demand for oil than anticipated. The only significant pivots during the week were on Wednesday, January 20th which was inauguration day. That day saw a spike in Communications, Technology and Real Estate (XLRE). The pivot for Communications and Technology were likely reinvestment into mega-caps that didn't seem to be in the crosshairs of any new policies, alleviating some fears of policies that would hurt big tech. The Real Estate pivot was driven by the additional assistance for renters proposed in the new stimulus package. The stimulus approved in December only covered the estimated amount of back rent owed, but the new stimulus package would extend rental assistance into the future.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 1/15The sectors had a wild race this week with the backdrop of a up and down market with several rotations between small caps, mid caps and large caps. Energy (XLE) would ultimately be the winner, supported by production cuts in Saudi Arabia, higher than expected demand for oil, and some positive news from OPEC. There was a significant pullback on Friday after SEC announced an investigation into Exxon Mobile (XOM) which makes up 23% of the XLE ETF. Financials (XLF) led must of the week as investors expect higher treasury yields boost performance for big banks. That turned upside down on Friday when Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) disappointed on revenue despite beating expectations on earnings. It was Real Estate (XLRE) and Utilities (XLU) that started to climb on Tuesday and were top performers on Friday. Those two sectors are defensive plays for equity investors. Both are expected to suffer less from market pullbacks. Materials (XLB) and Industrials (XLI) were also doing well earlier in the week, but pulled back on Friday. It could be that the nearly $2 trillion of stimulus promised by President-elect Biden is seen as a delay to the expected investments in infrastructure. Just a theory. Technology (XLK) and Communications (XLC) were at the bottom. The big tech mega-caps went up and down in price all week as money moved in and out of the segment. Communications, which includes companies like Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR) suffered the most as investors fear negative impact of recent actions related to Donald Trump.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
5
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 1/8Energy (XLE) finds itself back at the top of the sector list for the first week of 2021. It's not something you might expect as the blue wave hit US politics, which doesn't bode well for traditional energy stocks. However, crude oil is over $50 a barrel for the first time since April after Saudi Arabia surprisingly cut output. The blue wave did have some expected impact this week. After the Georgia run-off results showed Democrats would take control of the senate, US Treasury Bond yields took off as investors expect more stimulus that would further impact the US Dollar. That caused Financials (XLF), especially big banks, to have big gains on Wednesday and Thursday. Materials (XLB) benefited from the blue wave news, as we can expect big investments in US infrastructure with the new administration. Industrials (XLI) also had a boost on Wednesday, with some benefit from infrastructure spend, but also several segments like airlines likely to benefit from further stimulus. However, Industrials did not continue the rise and ended the week behind the S&P 500. Consumer Discretionary (XLY) got a boost on Friday, perhaps from higher than expected Consumer credit numbers on top of the promise of new stimulus. Quite a few people had a good Christmas it seems. At the bottom of the list is Real Estate (XLRE) which is likely to suffer in the bottom line from the higher interest rates. Technology (XLK) had the opposite reaction to the blue wave on Wednesday but regained from losses on Thursday and Friday to end the week just behind Industrials. Also notable is Utilities (XLU) which lost for the week, but had gains on Friday as a defensive move heading into a likely emotion filled weekend for the United States.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
Sector Winners and Losers for 1/5 and 1/6I normally publish this chart on weekly basis as part of my Week in Review work but I thought it was interesting to look at it today, in the context of the Georgia run-off election results. There is also the turmoil in DC, but that did not seem to impact the sector leaders list (the afternoon dip impacted all equally). Energy (XLE) is leading over the two days, although was in third place for Wednesday. This position is not related to politics, but rather that crude oil prices moved past $50 for the first time since February. A much smaller part of Energy is the solar stocks which will benefit greatly from a Democratic controlled congress and presidency. However, the solar stocks make up a small part of XLE and are not the reason for the sector performance. Materials (XLB) is the next sector on the list. Materials sector will benefit greatly from expected spend on infrastructure in the US. Financials (XLF) was the winner on Wednesday, as yields on treasury bonds rose, bringing higher interest rates that will benefit banks. Industrials (XLI) got a boost from both the outlook for infrastructure spend, but also the promise of more stimulus that would easily pass through congress and signed by the president. The sectors that did not fair well with the news included Communication Services (XLC) and Technology (XLK) which both include "big tech" names that are likely to take a hit from higher bond yields. Similarly Real Estate (XLRE) will incur higher costs due to the higher interest rates.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
2
TSM Long 12/23/2020TSM is a leading chip maker for some of the largest tech companies on the planet, including Apple, Sony, Huawei, Qualcomm, and others. It is pushing new all time highs & I bought in anticipation of a breakout to those new highs. I got long half of a position @ $104.14 with a stop @ $101.75. I didn't feel comfortable putting on a full sized position going into year-end, but if the trade continues to work for me, I am looking to add. With an initial stop loss of ~2.3%, I am looking for at least a 5% move from my initial entry price, which is roughly the $109.50 level.
NYSE:TSMLong
by apaqu
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 12/25The short trading week was not without its excitement. Financials (XLF) was the big winner of the week. The fed stress test last week resulted in banks being allowed to resume share buy bank programs, giving some tailwinds to the sector. Technology (XLK) took the lead on Tuesday, but fell back into second place at the open on Wednesday. All other sectors underperformed the S&P 500 for the week. Energy (XLE) was the leading sector for Wednesday's session but was the worst performing sector on the other days, coming in last for the week.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 12/18The sectors took on a character we have not seen for some time. Technology (XLK) is back to leading the sectors for this week. Helped by a number of breakouts in technology growth stocks, some of those fueled by speculation in security stocks following a wide and troublesome security breach that impacted both the government and private sector. Consumer Discretionary (XLY) came in second, after very briefly passing Technology on Wednesday morning. Retail Sales data and Santa Claus are likely the reasons for the great performance. Materials (XLB) also performed well on Building Permits and New Housing Starts data that came in better than expected. The big loser for the week was Energy (XLE). This is after five weeks of leading the sector list. Despite vaccine availability and positive oil prices giving it a boost midweek, the nervous sentiment caused by new lockdowns worldwide have put downward price pressure on the sector.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 12/11Despite starting the week in last place, Energy (XLE) rose to the top of the sector list starting from Tuesday as the first vaccine doses were made available in the UK. That positive vaccine news boosted the sector that is likely to benefit from the increased activity in travel and leisure sectors. Communications (XLC) led at the beginning of the week, but could not keep up with Energy and finished the week in second. Utilities (XLU) also had moments of leadership on Monday and Tuesday. The sector is a defensive play in equities and an alternative to moving money into other safe havens such as bonds. Real Estate (XLRE) was the worst performing sector for the week. Technology (XLK) that heavily impacts market performance, underperformed the S&P 500 this week.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
3
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 12/4Energy ( XLE ) is now in its fourth week of leading the sectors list. It didn't look that way at the beginning of the week when it sold off off sharply amongst disagreements between OPEC members on future oil production. It rose back to the lead as those talks began getting better on Wednesday and OPEC finally had agreement on Friday. Technology ( XLK ) and Health Services ( XLV ) nearly tied for second. They shared the lead on Tuesday. Health Services had a huge boost after the UK announced approval of the Pfizer vaccine. Both Health Services and Technology didn't move much after the progress on Tuesday, but it was enough to keep them in position for a solid tie 2nd place ending. Communications ( XLC ) led for two days, before being overtaken by the top three and ending the week in fourth place. Utilities ( XLU ) was the loser of the week. The defensive play wasn't needed by investors who seemed optimistic about vaccines, stimulus talks and oil agreements. That was enough optimism to ignore the unemployment data signaling trouble for the economy.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 11/27Energy (XLE) put in a third week of huge gains and topped the other sectors. The sector is up over 40% in the last three weeks. It did pull back a bit on Wed and Fri. Financials (XLF) also sticks out as a winner for the week, far above the rest of the sectors. The worst performing sectors were Real Estate (XLRE) and Utilities (XLU). Utilities briefly emerged as a leader for Wednesday afternoon as investors parked money in the safe haven sector for the holiday. Technology (XLK) underperformed the index for a third week.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 11/20Energy (XLE) was the big winner of the week for the second week in a row. Additional positive vaccine news signaled the possibility of several sectors recovering and driving demand for oil and gas. After a poor performance last week, Technology (XLK) followed closely the performance of the S&P 500 index. Utilities (XLU) performed the worst this week, although it was the best performing sector during Friday trading. Health Care (XLV) also did not have a great week, spending much of the week as the worst sector until the honor was passed to Utilities.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321
Sector Winners and Losers week ending 11/13Energy (XLE +17.11% WoW) was the clear winner of the week. Straight out of the gait, Energy benefited from the news that an effective vaccine could be available soon. The Energy sector would benefit from the economic recovery of several of sectors including Transportation, Travel and Leisure. Financials (XLF +8.29% WoW) followed in a distance second. Banks have a lot to benefit from an economic recovery including higher yields in bonds as investors move back into equities. Those two sectors stood tall above the rest who all performed more closely to the S&P 500 performance. Technology (XLK -0.31% WoW) was the only sector to end the week with losses. A clear metric of what we already knew - that investors rotated out of popular technology stocks that benefited from the pandemic lockdowns.
SP:SPX
by drewby4321