The utilities sector is often viewed as a safety sector, offering less risk than the more cyclical sectors. With the overall market moving higher over the last three weeks, utilities have lagged the other sectors. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU) has dropped 1.3% since July 8 and that is the worst performance among the 10 main sector SPDRs.
While the XLU has lagged in the last few weeks, the slight decline has allowed a couple of trend lines to catch up to the fund. The first one is the 50-day moving average and the ETF just hit it in the last few days. The second trend line is actually the lower rail of an upwardly sloped channel. We see that the line connects the lows from May and June while the upper rail connects the highs from April, May, and June.
When the XLU dropped to its low on May 9 that formed the first point of the lower rail and the fund jumped over 6% in just over two weeks. The second point that helped form the lower rail was on June 4 and after hitting that low the fund jumped 5.87% in three trading days.
The Tickeron Trend Prediction Engine generated a bullish signal for the XLU on July 25 and the signal showed a confidence level of 84%. The signal calls for a gain of at least 4% within the next month. Past predictions on the XLU have been successful 90% of the time.
From a fundamental standpoint, utilities may become more attractive as it appears as if the Fed will cut rates at the July meeting. When the Fed cuts rates, utility stocks become more attractive for the yields the dividends provide.
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The RSI Oscillator for XLU moved out of oversold territory on October 01, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is shifting from a downward trend to an upward trend. Traders may want to buy the stock or call options. The A.I.dvisor looked at 29 similar instances when the indicator left oversold territory. In 27 of the 29 cases the stock moved higher. This puts the odds of a move higher at 90%.
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on October 06, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on XLU as a result. In 72 of 85 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are 85%.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for XLU just turned positive on October 05, 2026. Looking at past instances where XLU's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 33 of 40 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 82%.
XLU moved above its 50-day moving average on October 20, 2026 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
The 10-day moving average for XLU crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on October 22, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In 17 of 18 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 90%.
Following a +2.21% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where XLU advanced for three days, in 296 of 344 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 86%.
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 270 of 336 cases where XLU Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 80%.
The Stochastic Oscillator demonstrated that the ticker has stayed in the overbought zone for 6 days. The longer the ticker stays in the overbought zone, the sooner a price pull-back is expected.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where XLU declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 86%.
XLU broke above its upper Bollinger Band on October 22, 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.
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
Category Utilities