# Sector relative strength vs S&P 500 | PIER20 benchmarks

Which sectors are leading the market, and which are lagging?

The sector relative strength benchmark compares the eleven SPDR sector ETFs (XLK, XLF, XLE, XLV, XLI, XLY, XLP, XLU, XLB, XLRE, XLC) with the S&P 500 (SPY), all rebased to 100 at their shared start. A sector above the SPY line has beaten the broad market over the window; below means underperformance. The summary callout measures the spread between the best- and worst-performing sectors.

As of **11 Aug 2026**, the Technology line stands at **561.2** (all base = 100 at the shared start). That is up 41.6% over the past year and above its long-run median of 218.6.

## Summary statistics (full history)

| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 100.0 | 561.2 | 81.3 | 597.4 |
| Financials | 100.0 | 246.6 | 67.2 | 246.8 |
| Energy | 100.0 | 230.8 | 34.8 | 235.5 |
| Health Care | 100.0 | 226.9 | 91.2 | 227.6 |
| Industrials | 100.0 | 290.0 | 69.3 | 290.8 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 100.0 | 230.4 | 79.8 | 239.4 |
| Consumer Staples | 100.0 | 205.6 | 97.0 | 215.8 |
| Utilities | 100.0 | 222.4 | 94.9 | 240.8 |
| Materials | 100.0 | 214.1 | 68.2 | 214.1 |
| Real Estate | 100.0 | 184.4 | 85.9 | 191.5 |
| Communication Services | 100.0 | 242.1 | 78.5 | 258.4 |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | 100.0 | 316.3 | 83.8 | 317.0 |

## Last 24 readings

| Date | Technology | Financials | Energy | Health Care | Industrials | Consumer Discretionary | Consumer Staples | Utilities | Materials | Real Estate | Communication Services | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | 559.3 | 236.3 | 207.9 | 219.1 | 282.6 | 225.5 | 202.0 | 230.7 | 202.0 | 184.1 | 239.2 | 308.2 |
| Jul 2026 | 560.6 | 237.1 | 208.8 | 217.3 | 283.8 | 226.3 | 204.2 | 232.1 | 204.5 | 185.0 | 241.6 | 309.5 |
| Jul 2026 | 547.0 | 238.6 | 215.1 | 218.1 | 281.4 | 224.0 | 205.4 | 233.7 | 203.3 | 186.1 | 241.5 | 307.1 |
| Jul 2026 | 554.1 | 239.1 | 215.9 | 213.9 | 281.5 | 223.7 | 202.5 | 233.6 | 203.5 | 185.1 | 241.2 | 308.2 |
| Jul 2026 | 547.9 | 240.7 | 214.2 | 213.9 | 280.9 | 225.8 | 202.7 | 231.2 | 202.9 | 185.5 | 245.4 | 309.4 |
| Jul 2026 | 535.7 | 241.5 | 216.2 | 218.6 | 281.1 | 226.5 | 208.4 | 232.5 | 204.5 | 189.2 | 243.8 | 307.8 |
| Jul 2026 | 529.8 | 239.4 | 218.7 | 217.6 | 279.9 | 222.8 | 206.8 | 230.9 | 203.1 | 189.1 | 239.5 | 304.7 |
| Jul 2026 | 530.2 | 238.5 | 219.7 | 215.2 | 277.9 | 221.2 | 206.0 | 229.7 | 201.0 | 188.3 | 239.8 | 304.2 |
| Jul 2026 | 545.5 | 238.8 | 221.8 | 216.5 | 278.7 | 221.7 | 204.1 | 229.6 | 201.3 | 188.1 | 238.1 | 306.8 |
| Jul 2026 | 544.0 | 238.5 | 224.5 | 215.4 | 279.0 | 220.1 | 204.9 | 234.8 | 204.2 | 187.3 | 236.3 | 306.4 |
| Jul 2026 | 538.5 | 237.6 | 225.1 | 218.1 | 283.9 | 209.9 | 202.0 | 236.1 | 202.1 | 187.1 | 228.1 | 302.6 |
| Jul 2026 | 530.7 | 239.6 | 226.1 | 219.6 | 285.0 | 211.2 | 204.3 | 236.6 | 206.0 | 191.3 | 230.1 | 302.9 |
| Jul 2026 | 525.9 | 242.0 | 221.3 | 220.8 | 285.8 | 213.9 | 207.3 | 233.5 | 206.5 | 190.5 | 233.0 | 303.0 |
| Jul 2026 | 516.3 | 245.1 | 218.3 | 226.0 | 284.7 | 217.1 | 211.4 | 232.7 | 210.3 | 191.5 | 237.4 | 303.7 |
| Jul 2026 | 502.6 | 241.2 | 222.4 | 224.6 | 275.6 | 215.4 | 212.1 | 229.6 | 207.9 | 191.3 | 237.0 | 299.1 |
| Jul 2026 | 530.3 | 242.5 | 223.6 | 220.9 | 278.3 | 216.9 | 207.5 | 228.3 | 207.5 | 188.6 | 230.7 | 304.1 |
| Jul 2026 | 529.1 | 242.3 | 225.8 | 219.6 | 280.6 | 224.1 | 206.5 | 226.7 | 202.7 | 187.6 | 234.3 | 306.3 |
| Aug 2026 | 537.2 | 244.2 | 222.9 | 219.2 | 285.8 | 228.1 | 206.0 | 226.8 | 205.0 | 188.1 | 241.0 | 310.6 |
| Aug 2026 | 564.0 | 246.3 | 221.9 | 219.0 | 290.8 | 228.3 | 207.3 | 225.5 | 209.0 | 188.0 | 242.5 | 316.2 |
| Aug 2026 | 561.0 | 246.8 | 217.3 | 221.8 | 290.7 | 229.0 | 207.2 | 223.2 | 211.5 | 188.1 | 240.0 | 315.6 |
| Aug 2026 | 559.2 | 246.0 | 220.5 | 222.2 | 288.3 | 227.9 | 206.7 | 221.8 | 209.6 | 186.5 | 240.6 | 315.1 |
| Aug 2026 | 567.2 | 245.1 | 218.0 | 223.8 | 288.9 | 231.3 | 206.7 | 222.9 | 212.4 | 187.2 | 240.8 | 317.0 |
| Aug 2026 | 562.2 | 246.0 | 228.2 | 227.6 | 288.0 | 231.0 | 206.3 | 220.5 | 213.7 | 184.8 | 242.0 | 316.9 |
| Aug 2026 | 561.2 | 246.6 | 230.8 | 226.9 | 290.0 | 230.4 | 205.6 | 222.4 | 214.1 | 184.4 | 242.1 | 316.3 |

## How to read this benchmark

**How to read twelve lines at once.** The SPY line is the benchmark: any sector above it is leading the market, any sector below it is lagging. The vertical order at the right edge of the chart shows the current leadership ladder, and a wide spread between the top and bottom sectors signals a highly rotational, regime-driven market while a narrow spread signals broad-based moves. Technology has dominated the top of the ladder through the AI cycle.

**Why eleven sectors plus the benchmark.** The SPDR sector ETFs slice the S&P 500 into the eleven GICS sectors at the level most institutional desks and factor frameworks use. Plotting them all against SPY shows how sector allocation drove returns in any window, which is the largest single driver of active US equity performance after stock selection. XLC listed in 2018, which anchors the shared start.

**Limitations.** Sector ETFs are cap-weighted within their sector, so each line carries the same mega-cap concentration risk that affects SPY itself. The eleven-sector framework misses intra-sector dispersion, which can be larger than inter-sector. The window begins in mid-2018 when XLC launched, missing the post-crisis sector cycle and the 2014-2017 energy bust. Treat the chart as context for sector rotation, not investment advice.

**Historical extremes and current leadership.** On the rebased scale (100 at June 2018), Technology (XLK) leads at roughly 538 while Real Estate (XLRE) lags near 187, a spread of roughly 351 percentage points. Only one of the eleven sectors (XLK) has beaten SPY itself (rebased near 303) over the window; the other ten lag the broad market. Energy (XLE) is the most volatile, having collapsed to roughly 35 during the 2020 pandemic oil crash before recovering.

## How this benchmark is used

**Sector rotation strategy.** Sector-rotation funds and equity allocators use relative-strength rankings to time tilts toward leading sectors and away from lagging ones, on the empirical observation that sector momentum persists for months at a time before reverting. The chart is the standard reference for the current rotation regime.

**Business-cycle regime classification.** Sector leadership patterns map to business-cycle phases: Technology, Consumer Discretionary and Industrials lead in early-cycle; Energy and Materials lead in mid-cycle commodity booms; Health Care, Consumer Staples and Utilities lead in late-cycle defensives. Strategists use the leadership ladder, alongside the yield curve and PMIs, to label the macro regime.

**Active-management sector-attribution.** Performance attribution teams decompose active US equity returns into sector allocation versus stock selection, and this chart shows the sector-allocation component directly. When sector dispersion is wide (as in the current Technology-led regime), sector calls matter more than average; when it is narrow, stock selection dominates.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the current sector relative strength vs S&P 500?**

As of 11 Aug 2026, the Technology line stands at 561.2 (all base = 100 at the shared start). That is up 41.6% over the past year and above its long-run median of 218.6.

**How often is this benchmark updated?**

This benchmark is built on daily data. The page is refreshed when the source publishes new observations; the freshness block below the chart shows the exact data-through date and when PIER20 last fetched the file.

**What data sources does this chart use?**

The chart is built from Technology, Financials, Energy, Health Care, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Utilities, Materials, Real Estate, Communication Services and S&P 500 (SPY), sourced from Yahoo Finance.

**Which sector has led and which has lagged the most?**

Since the June 2018 start, Technology (XLK) has led at roughly 538 on the rebased scale, while Real Estate (XLRE) has lagged near 187, a spread of roughly 351 percentage points. Only XLK has beaten SPY itself over the window; the other ten sectors lag the broad market, reflecting how concentrated index returns have been in mega-cap technology.

**What does the top minus bottom sector spread mean?**

It measures the gap between the best- and worst-performing sector ETFs at the latest reading, in rebased points. A wide spread signals a regime-driven, rotational market where sector calls matter most; a narrow spread signals broad-based moves where stock selection dominates. Unlike the other benchmarks in this cluster, the callout does not name a specific pair because the leader and laggard change across windows.

**How many sectors have beaten the S&P 500 over this window?**

Only one of the eleven sectors (Technology, XLK) has beaten SPY itself over the window since June 2018. That is unusual: it reflects the degree to which S&P 500 returns have been concentrated in the mega-cap technology stocks that dominate both XLK and the cap-weighted SPY. The other ten sectors, despite mostly positive absolute returns, lag the broad market.

**Why does this benchmark start in 2018?**

The communication-services sector ETF (XLC) was relaunched in June 2018 with its current constituents, and rebasing every line to 100 requires a shared start date. Beginning earlier would mean excluding XLC entirely or showing it as a flat line at zero, both of which would mislead. The window captures the post-2017 technology cycle, the 2020 pandemic, and the 2022 rate-hike regime, but misses earlier sector rotations.

## Methodology

- Formula: XLK, XLF, XLE, XLV, XLI, XLY, XLP, XLU, XLB, XLRE, XLC and SPY adjusted close indexed to 100 at the shared start
- Frequency: Daily
- Sources: Technology (XLK) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLK; Financials (XLF) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLF; Energy (XLE) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLE; Health Care (XLV) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLV; Industrials (XLI) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLI; Consumer Discretionary (XLY) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLY; Consumer Staples (XLP) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLP; Utilities (XLU) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLU; Materials (XLB) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLB; Real Estate (XLRE) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLRE; Communication Services (XLC) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XLC; S&P 500 (SPY) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPY. Data via Yahoo Finance.
- Data through: 11 Aug 2026
- Last refreshed: 11 Aug 2026

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Full interactive chart: https://pier20.com/benchmarks/sector-relative-strength
Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.