With almost all stocks taking a beating over the last month, let's just say it's been tough to spot any particular sector trend. However, with things looking up now, I'm starting to grow curious about sectors again. Specifically, I'd like to know which groups are emerging from this fund the first/best. And, I'd also like to know which ones are lagging. Using that data, we may be able to find the hot spots for the next bullish leg.

Today's leaders are financials, then energy, than the industrials. Telecom deserves an honorable mention. The strength in financials is a complete role reversal. They've been dragging the bottom for a while. As such, these names are the most apt to pop. I'm still not convinced they can keep at it for any length of time, though if they do, this oversold group presents an enormous recovery opportunity. As for energy, it's not surprising to see them take the top spot again. Note how they overcame the basic materials to do it (again not a surprise). I'd take energy's strength at face value, along with basic materials new-found trouble. As for the industrials, I think they may surprise a lot of people. They've held this number 3 spot for a while now, and they appear intent on holding it for a while longer.

As for the bottom three, health care can barely even stay afloat even with the help of today's bounce. Utilities are next to last, while consumer goods/staples are only marginally better than the utilities. Though all three may go higher, I see nothing that makes me think they'll suddenly start to outperform other groups.

Here's the breakdown, ranked by monthly performance rather than the one-day results.

Sector % performance Ranks, based on one-moth results


See anything incredibly curious? Today's three worst are at the top of the monthly list. I think that's mostly a case of "the higher they fly, the farther they fall." Healthcare, utilities, and consumer goods didn't have a lot to lose. That's why they don't have much to re-gain now. So, the monthly rank changes nothing for me.

That being said, here's a bird's eye view of the entire sector landscape. I think it helps to visualize where things are in relation to one another, and to possible spot shifts in strength (also known as rotation).

Sector % change chart, based on daily results


Price Headley is the founder and chief analyst of BigTrends.com.