A LOOK AT WEEKLY SECTOR RANKING SHOWS UTILITIES IN THE LEAD -- OTHER DEFENSIVE SECTORS ALSO DID WELL

UTILITIES ARE WEEK'S STRONGEST SECTOR...Chart 1 ranks the week's eleven S&P 500 stock sectors and shows ten of them in the black for the week.   Only Communication Services are seeing a small loss.   Some other laggards include industrials, financials, and energy.  What may seem surprising is that utilities are the week's strongest sector.   Other leading sectors include materials, real estate, healthcare, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples.   It's also interesting to see a number of defensive sectors having a relatively strong week.   That may be simply be investors buying into cheaper parts of the market, or a broadening out of the market rally.  Or investors turning a bit more cautious.   We'll take a look at how a couple of those defensive sectors are doing.    Utilities are one of the quieter parts of the market that don't usually attract a lot of attention.   We'll make an exception this week and take a closer look.

UTILITIES ACHIEVE BULLISH BREAKOUT...The daily bars in Chart 2 show the Utilities Sector SPDR (XLU) rising above its November peak to the reach the highest level in more than a year.  That puts it in position to challenge its all-time high formed during the first quarter of last year.  Its relative strength ratio in the upper box shows how badly utilities have performed over the last year.   So their recent leadership is something new.  Utilities aren't the only defensive sector achieving a bullish breakout.    So are REITs.

REITS HIT NEW RECORD... Chart 3 shows the Real Estate Sector SPDR (XLRE) rising above its early 2020 high to reach a new record.   Among other more defensive sectors, consumer staples and healthcare SPDRs hit new records as well.   That could be a sign that investors are themselves turning a bit more defensive.