Sector ETFs Ranks: Cyclicals take the lead

This post highlights the Tactical and longer-term 52-week Ranks for the S&P 500 GICS Level 1 sector ETFs as of the week ending 1/16/2026.

The Top five Tactical Ranks are Industrials, Materials, Energy, Healthcare, and Technology. Discretionary dropped out of the top five, replaced by Energy.

• The top three sectors - Industrials, Materials, Energy - suggest a rotation to tactical leadership from cyclicals. Two of these sectors - Industrials and Materials - also rank in the top five in terms of the 52-week ranks.

• Both Healthcare and Technology has shown consistent leadership within the top five over the last 10 weeks but have lost momentum entering 2026.

• Industrials, Materials, Healthcare, and Technology also have top five 52-week Ranks - see below for 52-week Ranks.

The Bottom five Tactical Ranks are Utilities, Communication Services, Real Estate, Financials, and Staples. The same five sectors from the prior week ending 1/6/2026.

• Real Estate and Staples have remained in the bottom five over the last 10 weeks but have improved from their worst levels in recent weeks.

• Utilities have had a bottom five ranking over the last seven weeks.

• Real Estate, Financials, and Staples also have bottom five 52-week Ranks - see below for more

Table 1: Historical S&P 500 GICs level 1 sector Tactical Ranks history for last 10 weeks

The Top Five 52-week Ranks are Technology, Industrials, Communication Services, Healthcare, and Materials. Financials moved out of the top five, replaced by Healthcare.

• Technology, Communication Services, and Industrials show solid long-term rankings, holding top five positions consistently over the last 10 weeks.

• Technology has ranked first over the last 10 weeks.

• Communication Services has held a top 2 to 3 position over the last 10 weeks.

The Bottom Five 52-week Ranks are Energy, Real Estate, Staples, Discretionary, and Financials. Healthcare and Utilities moved out of the bottom five replaced by Financials and Discretionary.

• Energy, Real Estate, and Consumer Staples have ranked in the bottom five over the last 10 weeks, reinforcing persistent relative underperformance and a clear absence of longer-term leadership.

  
  

Table 2: Historical S&P 500 GICs level 1 sector 52-week Ranks history for last 10 weeks