Tag Archives: sectors
Mapping Liquidity across S&P 500 Sectors
Trading linked to S&P 500® sectors has expanded meaningfully in recent years, as market participants increasingly use sector instruments to allocate capital, hedge risk and express relative views within U.S. equities. As participation in index-linked markets has grown, liquidity has become an informative signal, revealing where attention is focused and how risk is being transferred….
- Categories Equities
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- Equities
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Digging into the Divide in Global Financials
Since the beginning of 2025, the global Financials sector has experienced a significant shift. For several years, across the developed world, the sector had been sailing in roughly the same direction, though generally the U.S. at a higher rate of knots. In 2025, market winds blew the S&P 500 Financials (Sector) and the S&P World…
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Why Do U.S. Equities and the S&P 500 Matter in South Korea?
S&P DJI’s Sue Lee examines the importance of the S&P 500 in the global equity opportunity set, key diversification and sector composition differences between notable U.S. equity and Korean benchmarks and the challenges faced by active managers in the U.S. and South Korea to outperform this iconic index.
- Categories Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA
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- Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA
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Spot the Difference
From a U.S. equities perspective, the first month of 2026 started on a different trajectory compared to years past. S&P 500® performance trailed much of the rest of the world (as measured by the S&P World Ex-U.S. Index), and within the U.S., the performance of the S&P 500 Information Technology (“U.S. Tech”) ranked in the…
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Quality over Quantity: Features of the S&P 500 Quality Index
Beyond being a familiar adage, “quality over quantity” lies at the heart of quality-based investing. Rather than concentrating on the largest stocks, quality indices systematically tilt toward companies with strong profitability, high earnings quality and robust balance sheets. Over the long term, the S&P 500® Quality Index has delivered impressive absolute and risk-adjusted returns as…
- Categories Factors
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- Factors
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Stocks, Sectors and Success?
The recent market rotation toward small caps and value has also extended toward sectors,1 with Technology, which was one of the top-performing sectors of 2025, turning from a leader into a laggard in January. Meanwhile, cyclical sectors including Energy and Materials have outperformed. But how challenging have the conditions been for sector allocators? Exhibit 1…
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The Momentum Factor: Continuing to Thrive beyond U.S. Borders
Last August, we published a blog highlighting the impressive H1 2025 performance of the S&P World Ex-U.S. Momentum Index compared to both its benchmark universe and the S&P 500®. This strong momentum persisted through the remainder of 2025, with the S&P World Ex-U.S. Momentum Index closing the year with an impressive 43.22% gain (see Exhibit…
- Categories Factors
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Big Tech, Breadth and Balance
U.S. equity markets have been whipsawed in the past few days, with initial optimism surrounding Big Tech earnings powering the S&P 500® to an intraday high, and subsequent disappointing reactions to earnings coupled with the Fed’s decision to hold rates steady leading to a sharp retreat for The 500®. The pullback in Tech and the…
Fashionably Late Cycle: The S&P 500 Market Leaders Index
The late-cycle economy is defined as the final phase of the macroeconomic cycle when economic activity hits its peak. The period is characterized by high but slowing growth, rising inflation that may affect profit generation, a tight labor market and volatility in interest rates. Given these conditions, many market participants are considering how best to…
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All That Glitters Isn’t Just Gold: 2025 Thematic Performance in Review
2025 Market Performance Markets delivered a strong year in 2025 across most parts of the globe. The S&P World Index was up 23%, while the S&P 500® was up 18% and posted 39 record closing highs during the year, despite persistent geopolitical, tariff and inflation pressure. Sector leadership in the U.S. was taken by Communication…
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- Thematics
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