Thursday, August 27, 2009

A Quick Look at Sector Themes


I recently posted about some interesting features on the FinViz site; as a reader perceptively noted, another useful feature is its tracking of S&P 500 sector groups in real time.

Above we see a one day and one week tracking for the groups. Note how "Basic Materials", which in their scheme includes both oil-related and other raw materials stocks, has been lagging in performance, mirroring commodity weakness. That commodity weakness, in turn, has been sensitive to lagging performance in emerging market stocks and currencies.

I'm watching this theme carefully, as the emerging market story--and aggressive emerging market stimulus--has led the risk rally since March.
.