It was another strong week across the market, as a string of U.S. trade deals alongside strong quarterly earnings provided some continued enthusiasm for the ongoing bull market.
As you’ll see below, every major U.S. sector finished the week higher, but we definitely saw some shuffling in sector performance.
Last week’s leader (health care – XLV) and laggard (tech – XLK) flip-flopped from their previous week’s standing, with XLV more than doubling the S&P 500’s still-impressive 1.5% gain!
Key Insights:
- The S&P 500 (SPY) rebounded with a 1.5% gain.
- All 11 major sectors closed higher for the week, with health care’s 3.5% jump leading the charge.
- The tech sector lagged but closed positive with a 0.4% gain.
- Five sectors beat the S&P, while six sectors underperformed.
While all of that green above is great to see, this is an important week with investors bracing for more trade war breakthroughs as President Trump’s August 1 deadline for new tariffs looms.
On Sunday, Trump announced a deal with the European Union, lowering the tariff rate on U.S. exports to 15%. But some other big players — including arguably the biggest in China — aren’t as keen to play ball.
We’re watching closely, but for now, let’s dive into last week’s leading and lagging sectors.
Health Care Rebounds in a Big Way
Below, you’ll find the Top 10 health care sector stocks that closed within 10% of their 52-week highs:
I touched on it last Monday, but the health care sector is facing a reckoning amid spending cuts within Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” While a swath of insurers dragged the sector down in the aftermath, last week’s sector rebound showed a very different trend.
You can see above that a good mix of pharmaceutical and biotech stocks were the top performers, and the top five stocks on this list posted gains of more than 6% over the five-day trading period.
I will note that many of these stocks are trading close to their 52-week highs, and their standing within my Green Zone Power Rating system is a bit of a mixed bag. (If you’d like to look these tickers up to see where they land, click here for details on how to join Green Zone Fortunes and gain full access to my system now.)
Let’s move over to last week’s lagging sector: tech…
Tech Sector Putters Along
Here’s a look at the tech sector stocks that closed the week within 10% of their 52-week lows:
I’m going to pick on Enphase Energy Inc. (ENPH) a bit here…
On Tuesday, the solar and renewable energy-focused company reported second-quarter earnings that beat on earnings per share (69 cents versus 62 cents) and revenue ($363.3 million versus $357 million expected), but the future looks dim…
Enphase specializes in solar microinverters and lowered expectations for the third quarter, citing tariff issues as the U.S. company relies heavily on China for critical components. I found a telling chart from Main Street Data:
This shows the number of microinverters Enphase has shipped since early 2020, and that steep drop after peaking in mid-2023 is a bad sign…
All told, my Green Zone Power Rating system has been waving the red flag on ENPH stock, with a “Bearish” overall rating. That tracks considering the stock is now down 50% year-to-date following last week’s 10% crash.
To good profits,
Editor, What My System Says Today