Rotation map
1M impulse · 6M trendBoth axes show excess return versus SPY. Upper-left sectors are newly emerging; lower-right sectors retain a six-month lead but have begun to fade.
SectorsUpdated daily after close · as of 2026-10-20
Sector Performance: All 11 GICS Sector ETFs vs SPY
Compare the Select Sector SPDR ETFs on equal footing: every line is rebased to 0% at the start of the selected window, with SPY dashed as the benchmark. Below it: each sector divided by SPY, how many sectors are beating the market, whose own uptrends hold above their 50- and 200-day averages, and whether that leadership is new or unusually risky.
Today's reading
As of market close on October 20, 2026, 10 of 11 sectors closed higher. The daily leader was XLV at +2.37%; XLK lagged at -0.28%. Year to date, XLE leads at +52.02% while XLC trails at -6.40%. 5 of 11 sectors are ahead of SPY's +12.78%, a mixed leadership profile. 6 of 11 sectors are above their 200-day averages and 5 above their 50-day.
Sources, methodology & freshnessDaily closes for the 11 Select Sector SPDR ETFs + SPY (1999–present where available) · Daily after market close (~1:30 PM PT)Data as of 2026-10-20 · Open ↓Close ↑
Source
Daily closes for the 11 Select Sector SPDR ETFs + SPY (1999–present where available)
Methodology
Lines rebased from first available close; rankings and diagnostics use common endpoints; returns exclude dividends; regimes from closes against simple 50- and 200-day averages
Updates
Daily after market close (~1:30 PM PT)Data as of 2026-10-20
Maintained & reviewed by Yuriy Matso — methodology shown on the page.
The answer · 1Y2026-10-20market close
XLEleads
Energy returned +56.4%, +41.9 pp versus SPY.
Mixed leadership · 4/11 beat SPY
- SPY benchmark
- +14.6%
- Positive sectors
- 7/11
- Runner-up
- XLK +28.7%
- Leader–laggard spread
- 64.9 pp
LaggardXLU -8.5%
Trend
6/11 above their 200-day · 5/11 above their 50-day
Changed regime today: XLB weakening → strong.
Comparable window starts 2025-10-20 (calendar cutoff; the table below uses fixed trading-session lookbacks, so its figures can differ slightly). Price returns, dividends excluded. Relative leadership is not a forecast or a standalone buy signal.
01
Comparative chart
Window:
Close-price returns; dividends excluded. Interactive windows use calendar cutoffs, while the table uses fixed trading-session lookbacks. On MAX, each late-starting ETF joins at its first observation and begins at 0%.
02
Each sector against SPY
Each sector ETF divided by SPY and indexed to 100 at the start of the 1Y window, strongest first. Above the dashed line the sector has beaten the S&P 500 since the window began; the slope shows whether that lead is growing or shrinking.
XLE+36.5%
Energy
XLK+12.3%
Technology
XLV+8.4%
Health Care
XLB+0.6%
Materials
XLP-3.8%
Consumer Staples
XLI-5.2%
Industrials
XLF-7.9%
Financials
XLRE-12.9%
Real Estate
XLY-14.7%
Consumer Discretionary
XLC-17.3%
Communication Services
XLU-20.1%
Utilities
Close prices, dividends excluded. Uses the window selected above.
03
How many sectors are taking part?
How many of the 11 sectors are outperforming SPY over the 1Y window — the green band counts beaters, the red band laggards. Broad leadership means participation is distributed across the market; a thin green band means a handful of heavyweights are carrying the index. Right now 4 of 11 sectors are beating SPY. The common comparison starts 2025-10-20.
Sectors outperforming SPY Sectors underperforming Half (5.5)
Sectors in each trend regime
A second measure: not who beat SPY, but whose own trend holds. SPY on top; below it, how many of the 11 sector ETFs sit above both their 50- and 200-day averages (strong), above the 200-day only (pullback), above the 50-day only (recovery) or below both (weak).
04
Whose uptrend holds?
Each sector ETF placed by its distance from its 50-day average (across) and 200-day average (up). Hover a dot for its figures.
Strong Pullback Recovery Weak Changed today
Regimes from closes against simple 50- and 200-day averages, as of 2026-10-20. Descriptions of the trend, not tested as signals.
05
Where leadership is changing — and what it costs
The rotation map separates a fresh one-month impulse from an established six-month trend, while the risk map asks whether the selected-window return came with more or less realized volatility than SPY. Together they distinguish durable leadership from a fast rebound or a volatile outlier.
Return vs realized risk
Selected window · 1YSPY's dashed crosshairs divide the field. Upper-left points delivered more return with less day-to-day volatility; hover a point for its worst peak-to-trough drawdown.
Common comparison period: 2025-10-20 to 2026-10-20. Volatility is annualized from daily close returns; short-window estimates can move quickly.
06
Every sector: returns and trend
Click a column to sort. A ● marks a sector within 1.5% of its 50-day average. Returns are close-price, dividends excluded.
| ETF | 1D | 1W | 1M ▼ | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | vs 50d | Δ 50d | vs 200d | Regime | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLEdashboard | +0.25% | +1.19% | +8.82% | +14.81% | +21.66% | +52.02% | +58.11% | +6.37% | +0.01 | +17.51% | STRONG | 14 |
| XLP | +0.62% | +4.23% | +7.12% | +3.99% | +7.22% | +12.96% | +10.06% | +4.23% | +0.57 | +4.34% | STRONG | 7 |
| XLV | +2.37% | +5.99% | +6.40% | +12.79% | +23.23% | +16.16% | +25.51% | +5.51% | +2.31 | +14.00% | STRONG | 8 |
| XLB | +0.55% | +3.04% | +3.06% | +0.81% | -1.04% | +12.97% | +16.59% | ●+0.27% | +0.62 | +0.62% | STRONG changed today | 1 |
| XLU | +1.26% | +0.02% | +3.00% | -8.82% | -6.83% | -1.90% | -8.54% | ●-0.16% | +1.30 | -5.46% | WEAK | 2 |
| XLY | +0.92% | +2.80% | +2.92% | +1.31% | -2.91% | -3.27% | -1.45% | +1.61% | +1.00 | -0.30% | RECOVERY | 2 |
| XLFdashboard | +1.20% | +1.64% | -0.32% | -0.57% | +6.54% | +1.73% | +6.78% | ●-0.83% | +1.25 | +3.78% | WEAKENING | 12 |
| XLRE | +1.70% | +1.31% | -0.49% | -5.84% | -3.20% | +5.03% | +0.81% | ●-1.45% | +1.74 | -2.04% | WEAK | 27 |
| SPY | +0.34% | -1.15% | -0.58% | +2.90% | +9.23% | +12.78% | +15.75% | benchmark | ||||
| XLI | +0.07% | -1.11% | -1.87% | -6.74% | -2.71% | +7.53% | +9.93% | -3.80% | +0.27 | -3.62% | WEAK | 27 |
| XLC | +0.09% | -1.86% | -3.97% | +0.91% | -5.95% | -6.40% | -4.13% | ●-1.48% | +0.12 | -2.86% | WEAK | 3 |
| XLKdashboard | -0.28% | -5.52% | -4.83% | +2.87% | +19.88% | +28.80% | +30.12% | -2.34% | −0.26 | +10.43% | WEAKENING | 4 |
07
The Manual — sector rotation
45% of the sector ETFs sit above their 50-day averages, with Health Care leading today. The full owner's guide covers the three-read framework (participation → relative strength → the leadership map), the cyclical-vs-defensive cycle table, the four trend regimes, why US sectors outrank the global and crypto reads, and where rotation will mislead you.
Read The Sector Rotation Manual →The answer · 1Y2026-10-20market close
XLEleads
Energy returned +56.4%, +41.9 pp versus SPY.
Mixed leadership · 4/11 beat SPY
- SPY benchmark
- +14.6%
- Positive sectors
- 7/11
- Runner-up
- XLK +28.7%
- Leader–laggard spread
- 64.9 pp
LaggardXLU -8.5%
Trend
6/11 above their 200-day · 5/11 above their 50-day
Changed regime today: XLB weakening → strong.
Comparable window starts 2025-10-20 (calendar cutoff; the table below uses fixed trading-session lookbacks, so its figures can differ slightly). Price returns, dividends excluded. Relative leadership is not a forecast or a standalone buy signal.
How Sector Performance Works
- 1Track the 11 GICS sector ETFs plus SPYXLK, XLC, XLY, XLF, XLI, XLB, XLE, XLV, XLP, XLU and XLRE: real, liquid ETFs rather than constructed indices, with SPY as the benchmark line.
- 2Rebase every series to a common startFor the selected window (1M to MAX), each ETF's closes are converted to cumulative percent change from its first available session in that window. On MAX, late-starting XLRE and XLC join at inception; rankings and diagnostic charts use the first date shared by all 11 sectors so those comparisons remain like-for-like.
- 3Read rotation from the spreadThe vertical spread between sector lines IS the rotation. Tight bundles mean macro-driven tape (everything moves together); wide spreads mean stock-picker markets with strong sector selection payoffs.
- 4Divide each sector by SPYThe small charts show each sector ETF divided by SPY, indexed to 100 at the start of the window. Above 100 the sector has beaten the S&P 500 since the window began; the slope shows whether that lead is growing or shrinking.
- 5Check whose own trend holdsBeating SPY and being in an uptrend are different questions. Each sector is placed by its distance from its 50- and 200-day averages and given one of four regimes: strong (above both), pullback (above the 200-day only), recovery (above the 50-day only) or weak (below both). The answer card counts them, and a history chart shows how many sectors sat in each regime over three years.
- 6Cross-check horizons in the returns tableThe table shows 1D through 1Y returns beside each sector's distance from its 50- and 200-day averages, its regime and how long it has held it, sortable by any column. A sector leading on 1M but lagging on 1Y is an emerging rotation; leading everywhere is an established trend.
- 7Separate rotation from riskThe rotation map compares one-month and six-month excess return versus SPY, distinguishing emerging, established, fading and lagging sectors. The selected-window risk map then compares price return (dividends excluded), realized volatility and peak-to-trough drawdown.
Who Uses Sector Performance
Sector Rotators
The core workflow: sort the table by 1M or 3M, compare against YTD, and you have the rotation picture — who's emerging, who's fading — in seconds.
Trend Followers
Relative strength vs SPY is the filter: sectors persistently above the dashed benchmark line are where momentum strategies want exposure.
Macro Traders
Defensive leadership (XLP, XLU, XLV on top) with cyclicals lagging is a regime read in one glance — confirm with the macro panel and credit spreads.
Dip Buyers
The worst 6M sector with an improving 1M column is the classic mean-reversion candidate; check its regime in the table to see whether its trend is actually turning.
Pro Tips
01
Toggle down to 3-4 lines
Twelve lines is a lot of ink. Click legend chips to isolate the sectors you care about — e.g. XLK vs XLE vs SPY tells the growth-vs-commodities story without the noise.
02
Use YTD for narrative, 1M for action
YTD is what everyone talks about; 1M is where rotation actually shows up first. The interesting trades live where the two disagree.
03
Equal-weight your eyes
SPY is cap-weighted, so XLK's line drags the benchmark with it. A sector beating SPY while XLK lags is stronger than it looks.
04
Read leadership and trend together
A sector can beat SPY while its own trend is still weak, as when it falls less than the market. Compare its line against SPY with its regime in the table: leading while still weak is early, leading in a strong regime is established. Neither is tested here as a signal.
Common Issues & Solutions
How far back does the chart go?▾
The MAX line chart reaches January 1999 where data are available. XLK joins in February 1999, XLRE in October 2015 and XLC in June 2018, each rebased to zero at its first observation. The answer card, breadth and risk map use the common history beginning June 2018 so all 11 sectors have identical endpoints.
Lines jump when I change ranges▾
By design — each window rebases to its own first session at 0%. A sector can be +20% on the 1Y window and -5% on the 1M window simultaneously; that disagreement is the rotation signal.
Why ETFs instead of the official GICS indices?▾
The Select Sector SPDR ETFs are the tradeable expression of the GICS sectors — real prices with real liquidity, and identical tickers to what you'd actually buy or hedge with.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is sector rotation?▾
The tendency of market leadership to move between sectors as the economic cycle and rate environment shift — energy and materials leading in inflationary expansions, technology in liquidity-driven phases, staples and utilities when growth slows. This page makes rotation visible by rebasing all 11 GICS sector ETFs to a common start.
Which ETFs are tracked?▾
The eleven Select Sector SPDR funds covering the GICS sectors: XLK (Technology), XLC (Communication Services), XLY (Consumer Discretionary), XLF (Financials), XLI (Industrials), XLB (Materials), XLE (Energy), XLV (Health Care), XLP (Consumer Staples), XLU (Utilities), XLRE (Real Estate) — plus SPY as the benchmark.
What does "rebased to 0%" mean?▾
Each line shows cumulative percent change from the first session of the selected window, so every sector starts at the same point and the chart directly compares price returns (dividends excluded) over exactly that window — eliminating the price-level differences that make raw ETF prices incomparable.
How do I read sector leadership vs SPY?▾
SPY is the dashed benchmark line. Sectors above it are outperforming the market over the window; below it, underperforming. Because SPY is cap-weighted and tech-heavy, broad sector strength with XLK lagging means the average sector is doing better than the index suggests.
What does the sector breadth chart show?▾
It counts, for each day in the common comparison window, how many of the 11 GICS sectors are outperforming SPY. The green band is the number beating SPY, the red band the number lagging, and the two sum to 11. On MAX, this diagnostic begins in June 2018 when all sector ETFs have observations. A wide green band means broad, participatory leadership; a thin one means only a few sectors are carrying the index.
How do I read the sector rotation map?▾
The horizontal axis is six-month excess return versus SPY, which represents the established trend. The vertical axis is one-month excess return, which captures the recent impulse. Upper-right sectors are established leaders, upper-left are emerging, lower-right are fading, and lower-left are persistent laggards.
What does the risk and return map measure?▾
It plots price return (dividends excluded) over the selected common window against annualized volatility calculated from daily closes. SPY provides the dashed reference lines, and each point's tooltip also reports its worst peak-to-trough drawdown. These are descriptive historical measures, not return forecasts.
What is sector relative strength?▾
A sector ETF's price divided by SPY's. The ratio removes the market's own direction: a rising line means the sector is beating the S&P 500, a falling one that it is lagging. Each small chart on this page is that ratio, indexed to 100 at the start of the selected window.
How is relative strength different from RSI?▾
They are unrelated despite the name. RSI, the Relative Strength Index, is a momentum oscillator built from one security's own gains and losses. Relative strength here is a ratio of one asset to another, sector to SPY, and measures outperformance.
What are the four sector regimes?▾
Each day the sector's close is compared with its 50- and 200-day simple moving averages. Strong is above both; pullback is above the 200-day but below the 50-day; recovery is above the 50-day but below the 200-day; weak is below both. A sector that moves from one to another between two closes is marked as having changed regime that day.
How do I read the regime map?▾
Each sector ETF is a dot placed by its distance from its 50-day average (across) and its 200-day average (up), so the four quadrants are the four regimes. The scale is capped at ±25% so one outlier cannot squash the rest; outliers sit at the edge, and the scale button expands the view to fit them.
What does the regime history chart show?▾
SPY on top, and below it how many of the 11 sector ETFs sat in each regime on each day over the last three years. It describes how broad the uptrend was; nothing on the page tests it as a timing signal.
Where did the Sector Relative Strength and Sector Health pages go?▾
Both were folded into this page on October 18, 2026, and their addresses redirect here. The relative-strength lines are the "Each sector against SPY" section; the regime map, regime history and trend columns came from Sector Health. Its 0–100 health score was replaced by plain counts of sectors above their 50- and 200-day averages.
How often does this update?▾
After every market close, alongside the rest of the daily pipeline. Returns in the table use trading-day lookbacks (1D/1W/1M/3M/6M/1Y) plus calendar YTD.