Energy Rules Again: Sector Posts 5.6% Weekly Gain as YTD Returns Top 38%

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Sector & Industry ETF channel currently oversees $891B in total assets across 269 ETFs and 56 issuers. The past week saw a significant pullback in terms of investor activity, with the channel recording $5.73B in net outflows. Despite this weekly softness, the broader trend for 2026 remains positive, with $23.57B in net inflows year-to-date. Looking at the longer-term horizon, the channel has attracted a robust $41.45B over the past year, underscoring continued investor commitment to sector-specific strategies despite near-term volatility.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Energy was the clear standout this week, posting a dominant 5.64% return, further cementing its position as the top-performing sector year-to-date with a massive 38.18% gain. Materials also showed strength, gaining 5.57%. Conversely, Communication Services acted as the primary laggard, falling -5.26% for the week, which dragged its year-to-date performance further into negative territory at -10.46%.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Energy 5.64% 12.03% 39.89% 38.01% 38.18% 44.88%
Materials 5.57% -8.92% 7.35% 14.79% 9.83% 25.53%
Utilities 2.82% -4.12% 6.61% 5.72% 6.92% 20.42%
Consumer Staples 1.62% -8.72% 4.46% 4.12% 5.42% 1.68%
Health Care -0.91% -9.58% -8.29% 6.83% -6.84% 9.20%
Financials -1.05% -7.32% -10.36% -6.19% -8.94% 4.13%
Consumer Discretionary -1.07% -9.88% -10.90% -9.94% -9.05% 5.38%
Real Estate -1.19% -8.97% -1.13% -1.47% -0.85% 2.97%
Industrial -1.68% -10.33% 1.79% 5.73% 3.17% 28.85%
Information Technology -3.33% -7.18% -6.28% 0.14% -4.54% 36.15%
Comm Services -5.26% -10.61% -10.68% -9.52% -10.46% 11.12%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

The single best-performing ETF this week was the WEBs Energy XLE Defined Volatility ETF (DVXE), which soared 11.71%. On the other end of the spectrum, the WEBs Communication Services XLC Defined Volatility ETF (DVXC) was the worst performer with a -8.64% return, followed closely by the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV), which dropped -7.31%.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
DVXE WEBs Energy XLE Defined Volatility ETF 11.71%
PSCM Invesco S&P SmallCap Materials ETF 8.68%
DVXB WEBs Materials XLB Defined Volatility ETF 7.76%
OIH VanEck Oil Services ETF 7.55%
IEZ iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF 7.55%
Bottom Performers
DVXC WEBs Communication Services XLC Defined Volatility ETF -8.64%
IGV iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF -7.31%
GXPC Global X PureCap MSCI Communication Services ETF -7.20%
WDEF WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund -7.01%
XSW State Street SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF -6.07%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The channel experienced total net outflows of $5.73B this week, largely driven by a massive rotation out of Technology. Energy was the primary recipient of fresh capital, taking in $612M in weekly inflows, bringing its total AUM to $73.7B. Communication Services also managed to attract modest inflows of $87M despite its poor performance. On the other side of the ledger, Information Technology saw the largest liquidation by far, with investors pulling $4.97B from the category over the past five days.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Energy 32 $73.7B $612M $3,940M $10,657M $10,763M $4,511M
Comm Services 8 $31.5B $87M ($1,643M) ($2,073M) ($2,230M) $931M
Financials 34 $89.5B $67M ($1,287M) ($2,100M) ($1,627M) ($5,187M)
Consumer Discretionary 15 $31.4B ($20M) ($155M) ($1,780M) ($1,736M) ($2,666M)
Real Estate 52 $83.1B ($50M) $451M $938M $866M $5,306M
Utilities 11 $39.7B ($94M) $1,445M $225M $173M $5,935M
Materials 10 $11.8B ($180M) ($547M) $1,046M $1,055M $733M
Industrial 28 $78.5B ($260M) $2,023M $9,453M $9,321M $16,769M
Health Care 32 $92.1B ($314M) ($1,881M) $246M $806M $921M
Consumer Staples 13 $27.5B ($605M) ($244M) $356M $342M ($795M)
Information Technology 33 $331.9B ($4,971M) ($2,974M) $6,008M $5,836M $14,994M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

In terms of individual fund flows, the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) led all inflows with $975M. The heaviest outflows were felt by the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), which shed a staggering $4.39B, followed by the State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (XAR), which recorded $654M in redemptions.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
XLF State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF $975M
FXN First Trust Energy AlphaDEX Fund $588M
XLI State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF $435M
IXC iShares Global Energy ETF $260M
SOXX iShares Semiconductor ETF $236M
Outflows
SMH VanEck Semiconductor ETF ($4,387M)
XAR State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF ($654M)
XLP State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF ($606M)
FTXO First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF ($558M)
RSPT Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Technology ETF ($466M)

Issuer League Table Update

State Street (SPDR) and Vanguard continue to dominate the Sector & Industry landscape, controlling 41.43% and 24.91% of the market share, respectively. Among the top providers, Vanguard gathered the most in weekly inflows with $269M. Conversely, VanEck saw the largest outflows of any brand this week, with investors pulling $4.49B, primarily from its semiconductor offerings.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
SPDR 28 $369.11B 41.43%
Vanguard 12 $221.88B 24.91%
iShares 49 $143.76B 16.14%
VanEck 12 $46.54B 5.22%
Fidelity 12 $32.75B 3.68%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
Vanguard $269M
Fidelity $102M
Dimensional $28M
Outflows
VanEck ($4,487M)
SPDR ($779M)
Invesco ($709M)

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Sector & Industry ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.

Disclosures

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.