Interest-rate direction is a key driver of sector leadership. Falling or stable yields support Technology and Communication Services by easing valuation pressure on long-duration earnings. Rising or volatile rates tend to favor Financials, Energy, and cyclically oriented Industrials, where cash flows are nearer-term and valuations less sensitive to discount-rate shifts.
January 2, 2026 An ETFSector.com Sector Fund Universe Review At ETFSector.com our research encompasses major US sector fund families as well as industry and niche
January 2, 2026 S&P futures +0.6% in premarket trading, following Wednesday’s decline that left the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down for a fourth straight session,
Elev8 Model Input Scores: January 2025 The table below shows the Elev8 model’s scores for January. The big development in December was a cooler CPI
A supportive Fed, a cooler CPI print and an economy still near full employment have historically been a constructive backdrop for equities. We remain constructive as the calendar turns to 2026 with inflation concerns receding.
Weak Crude price action continues to be a drag on the sector, particularly among large cap. legacy producers.
The Materials Sector has been boosted by rising commodities prices in the near-term. Margin rules around gold and silver trading will be something to watch in the near-term. We start 2026 with a neutral outlook as strength in Mining has been offset by weakness in Chemicals stocks.
The sector remains a diverse exposure that has remained in the middle of the road as investors have rotated between Growth, Cyclical and Low Vol. exposures at different points in 2025.
It will be interesting to see if Discretionary stocks can build on near-term momentum without continuous support from the Fed. With equities making a new ATH in December, we are giving the sector the benefit of the doubt amidst the resilient bull trend for US equities.
The Staples sector remains in the weakest long-term performance trend off the April 2025 lows. We think the sector needs equities to correct at the index level in order to outperform.
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