After a Week of Selling, Winning and Losing Industries Emerge
Since the low in March, the overall market has gone through two pretty distinct rallies with brief interruptions in June and now again at the beginning of September. Using the S&P 500 as a barometer for the overall market, we see that the index was up 44.5% from March 23 through June 8. From June 8 through June 26, the index fell 7%. It’s hard to call a 7% decline a pullback, but the period on the chart looks more like a short-term disruption.
The second rally took place from June 26 through September 2 and it saw the index gain 19%. From September 2 through September 10, the index fell 6.75%. It isn’t clear just yet whether the current disruption in the rally is over yet or if it is the start of something bigger.
It’s unclear whether the current disruption will last longer or become something more. But I wanted to find out which sectors and industries have performed the best during the rallies and during the disruptions.
I started with the current disruption and went to Tickeron’s Group Trends Screener to find out which groups have been performing the best and the worst over the last week. On the positive side, four of the top five groups are in the healthcare sector. The Orphan group was the top performer and it refers to rare diseases, and companies in this category are biotech entities developing treatments for those diseases. The other healthcare oriented groups are Central Nervous System, Immunotherapy, and Novel Medical. All of the groups gained 4% or more as the overall market fell.
As for the downside, all 10 of the worst performing groups were associated with the oil and gas industries—the energy sector. Everything from shale, offshore drilling, oil field services were on the list of worst performers. The losses ranged from 8.36% to 11.75%.
After looking at the performances from the different groups over the past week, I went back to look at how the different sectors performed during the different phases. I broke them down in the table below with the performances in the first rally, the first consolidation, and then the second rally. The energy sector was far and away the top performer as it rebounded from the temporary negative oil prices and the sector almost doubled from March 23 through June 8.
I used the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) to represent the overall sector. Since June 8, the energy sector has fallen 29.6% and that is by far the worst performance of the bunch. We see the sector also took the worst hit during the first consolidation.
The tech sector, as represented by the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), held up the best during the first consolidation and it was the top performer during the second rally with a gain of 25.1%. So far, in the current pullback, the tech sector has been the worst performer and is down over 10%.
To summarize what has happened so far, the top performing sector in the first rally became the worst performer in the first disruption. The top performer during the first disruption continued on to be the top performing sector in the second rally. Now it has been the worst performer in the second disruption. This presents an interesting dilemma and it has me wondering what the results will be once this disruption is over.
So far during the current disruption, the two sectors that have held up the best are materials and utilities. Will one of those two sectors be the top performer when the next rally happens? It is worth keeping an eye on.
Contributor
Harry Richardson — Algorithmic Trader & Strategy Developer Harry is an algorithmic trader specializing in impulse and breakout trading strategies across cryptocurrency and equity markets. With more than 10 years of experience in developing automated trading systems, he focuses on building structured algorithms designed to capture momentum while maintaining strict risk control. His approach combines quantitative analysis, real-market execution, and continuous performance monitoring. Vitalii prioritizes risk management, drawdown control, and strategy stability over short-term optimization, ensuring algorithms are adaptable to changing market conditions. He has developed and tested hundreds of automated strategies, working extensively with live trading environments, forward testing, and portfolio-level algorithm management. His work centers on transforming trading ideas into fully operational, scalable automated systems.
XLE's MACD Histogram crosses above signal line
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for XLE turned positive on August 11, 2026. Looking at past instances where XLE's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in of 51 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on August 10, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on XLE as a result. In of 87 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
XLE moved above its 50-day moving average on July 13, 2026 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
The 10-day moving average for XLE crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on July 20, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In of 22 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where XLE advanced for three days, in of 385 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In of 355 cases where XLE Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are .
Bearish Trend Analysis
The 10-day RSI Indicator for XLE moved out of overbought territory on July 27, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 46 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In of the 46 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at .
The Stochastic Oscillator has been in the overbought zone for 2 days. Expect a price pull-back in the near future.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where XLE declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
XLE broke above its upper Bollinger Band on August 11, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
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