Defensive sectors perking up

The next two Candleglance groups show the four offensive sectors (technology, finance, industrials, technology) and the three defensive sectors (healthcare, utilities, consumer staples). Three of the four offensive sectors moved to new reaction highs in mid November. Only the Financials SPDR failed to exceed its October high and show relative weakness. There was an interesting development recently as none of the offensive sectors exceeded last week's high. Even though it is just two weeks, this shows relative weakness over the short-term that could weigh on the market.

In contrast to the offensive sectors, the three defensive sectors exceeded last week's high with advances this week. The Utilities SPDR (XLU) surged above 30, the Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP) closed above 27 and the Healthcare SPDR (XLV) is up four days straight. Money preferred these defensive sectors over the last few days.