The S&P 500 Sectors in 2017

Here’s an interesting chart. This shows the relative strength of the major S&P 500 sectors during 2017.

Sorry I had to cram the legend on there.

To be clear, this isn’t how well the sectors did overall. Instead, it’s the sectors divided by the S&P 500. In other words, a rising line means the sector is beating the market while a falling line means it’s trailing. I used the total return figures.

A few things stand out. First, this was a tough year for Energy stocks. They badly trailed the market during the first part of the year. (I didn’t include Real Estate, Utes or Telecoms. The chart is crowded enough as it is.)

The Tech Sector was the big winner; however, there were two pullbacks, one in June and another in November.

Most of the other sectors could fairly be said to be market performers. Healthcare was strong during much of the year, but it tailed off after Labor Day. Financials were weak through May but picked up steam later in the year.

I think I was most surprised by the weakness in Consumer Staples from May to November.

Posted by on January 2nd, 2018 at 8:30 am


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