Here’s a look at that current short-term weakness in financials, when comparing the various sectors to SPY using relative-strength ratios.
The charts are stacked in order of each sector’s weighting in SPY (one-month only view).
This shows strength in the aggressive sectors, and weakness in the defensive sectors (XLV, XLP), a profile consistent with a bull market.
The exception is financials, considered an “aggressive sector,” which should be stronger.
Is the weakness in financials enough to take down the entire market? No…. they’ve been relatively weak throughout the entire run since 2009. A grizzly bear would need much more support. IMHO.
Just as a reminder, going back to the Oct 2007 top, it was the financial and discretionary sectors that broke first (same chart, 10-year weekly view).
Since then, XLY (purple) has been the constant driver of the economy and of the 5 year bull (forget the FED for a moment), and not surprisingly, its trajectory most closely resembles that of SPY. According to Newton, it will remain in forward motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Thus, any deceleration or decline in XLY would be quite a red flag.
I am NOT SUGGESTING that today's market is a 2007 clone, it is not, I am just looking for analogs and clues. And comparing a one-month view to a 10-year view just illustrates that this is a short-term pullback in a long-term bull market…. until further notice…..
Just for fun/comparison, here’s the “Ken Davis Research” current recommended sector allocation, for “Sector Rotation Strategy” folks.
And Schwab’s below that
[both from yesterday, Friday]
And an interesting seasonal sector study just posted by Bespoke: