Health Care, 3 other S&P sectors at all-time highs as index edges closer to fresh peak
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Four of the S&P 500’s (SP500) 11 sectors hit all-time highs on Thursday, contributing to the benchmark work in moving toward a return to record levels.
The S&P 500 Health Care, Financials, Industrials, and Materials sectors notched new peaks during the session, extending their year-to-date gains. The moves helped the S&P 500 (SP500) re-approach its 5,667 closing high set in mid-July. The index as of Thursday afternoon sat ~1% below the high, after earlier this month losing more than 8% during a rout stemming from recession fears.
Among ETFs, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLV) and the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF (NYSEARCA:RSPH) each recorded all-time highs on Thursday.
“Healthcare has proven to be a pleasant surprise in recent months, following its seasonal time of strength from June into July now showing some follow-through higher into August,” Fundstrat’s FS Insight said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Also sporting new highs were the S&P 500 Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF), the Industrial Select Sector SPDR fund (NYSEARCA:XLI), and the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLB).
Pending rate cuts by the Federal Reserve alongside a soft-landing for the U.S. economy is favorable for bank stocks, Wells Fargo said Thursday. In Q3, hedge funds were overweight financials (XLF) for the first time since 2010, and their tilt toward industrials (XLI) reached a June 2022 decade high, Goldman Sachs recently said.
Meanwhile, improving U.S. and global growth prospects spurred long-only global funds to push billions of dollars into industrials last month, according to Bank of America.
Within health care, (XLV) heavyweight Eli Lilly (LLY) has jumped +60% this year, buoyed by strong sales of the company’s diabetes and weight loss drug tirzepatide, which is marketed Mounjaro and Zepbound.
So far this year, the Financials sector has risen +19%, Health Care +14%, Industrials +13%, and Materials +8%. The S&P 500 (SP500) has gained +17%.
