Tech Surges, Utilities Slump: Your Weekly Sector ETF Recap

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Weekly Channel Summary

For the week ending April 24, 2026, the EQ: Sector & Industry ETF channel comprised 271 ETFs across 56 issuers, managing a total of $982 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM). The channel saw healthy overall activity, gathering $1.78 billion in net new money over the past 5 days. This continues a strong longer-term trend, bringing 30-day flows to $7.54 billion, Year-to-Date (YTD) flows to $32.92 billion, and 1-Year flows to an impressive $61.21 billion.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Information Technology was the undisputed leader this week, posting a sector-best 5.29% Week-to-Date (WTD) return and pushing its YTD gain to a commanding 21.85%. Energy also continued its strong run, up 4.36% for the week and leading all sectors with a 30.18% return YTD. Conversely, the Industrial sector lagged the group, falling -3.37% WTD, though it remains up 10.22% for the year.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Information Technology 5.29% 20.83% 16.06% 20.45% 21.85% 83.87%
Energy 4.36% -3.34% 18.96% 33.33% 30.18% 57.26%
Consumer Staples 0.53% 3.13% 1.14% 5.20% 7.75% 3.65%
Materials 0.28% 9.21% 4.64% 22.85% 18.80% 41.80%
Utilities 0.11% 3.86% 9.55% 3.49% 10.00% 22.28%
Real Estate -1.37% 8.22% 5.80% 5.94% 8.69% 15.39%
Consumer Discretionary -1.47% 7.62% -3.01% 0.71% 0.80% 20.46%
Financials -1.96% 6.97% -0.97% 5.01% -0.29% 19.94%
Comm Services -2.39% 6.81% -0.13% 2.56% -0.18% 27.47%
Health Care -2.97% 3.89% -4.62% 4.97% -2.25% 20.69%
Industrial -3.37% 3.78% 0.78% 10.40% 10.22% 42.51%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Within the channel, semiconductor funds dominated the top of the leaderboard. The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) took the top spot with a remarkable 15.51% WTD return. On the downside, European defense names struggled, with the Select STOXX Europe Aerospace & Defense ETF (EUAD) and the WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund (WDEF) taking the biggest hits, falling -11.10% and -9.46%, respectively.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
XSD State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF 15.51%
PSI Invesco Semiconductors ETF 12.33%
SMHX VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF 11.60%
FTXL First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF 11.28%
SOXX iShares Semiconductor ETF 11.03%
Bottom Performers
EUAD Select STOXX Europe Aerospace & Defense ETF -11.10%
WDEF WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund -9.46%
NATO Themes Transatlantic Defense ETF -8.29%
XTN State Street SPDR S&P Transportation ETF -7.36%
XAR State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF -7.23%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The sector gathered a total net flow of $1.78 billion this week. The Information Technology category was the primary magnet for investor capital, bringing in $1,306 million and pushing its total AUM to an enormous $401.1 billion. The Health Care sector also saw notable interest, attracting $410 million in new money. On the other end of the spectrum, Utilities faced the heaviest redemptions, experiencing -$456 million in outflows over the 5-day period.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Information Technology 33 $401.1B $1,306M $6,466M $12,137M $13,930M $23,054M
Health Care 33 $93.9B $410M ($225M) ($2,145M) $1,130M $2,667M
Industrial 28 $84.0B $403M $1,921M $8,765M $11,188M $19,579M
Energy 32 $69.2B $333M $1,611M $8,989M $11,175M $7,722M
Consumer Discretionary 15 $33.6B $106M ($718M) ($900M) ($2,014M) ($1,164M)
Comm Services 8 $34.2B $100M $416M ($1,842M) ($2,033M) $1,068M
Consumer Staples 13 $27.4B ($16M) ($878M) ($970M) ($620M) ($883M)
Financials 35 $94.3B ($104M) ($1,785M) ($7,213M) ($2,557M) ($3,073M)
Real Estate 53 $89.8B ($105M) ($438M) $674M $360M $5,271M
Materials 10 $13.8B ($202M) $1,235M $1,968M $2,302M $2,329M
Utilities 11 $40.4B ($456M) ($68M) $948M $62M $4,638M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

Zooming in on individual funds, the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) was the biggest winner, pulling in a massive $1,126 million. Meanwhile, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) and the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) faced the steepest redemptions, bleeding -$753 million and -$470 million, respectively.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
XLK State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF $1,126M
VGT Vanguard Information Technology ETF $430M
SMH VanEck Semiconductor ETF $384M
XLV State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF $311M
XLY State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF $261M
Outflows
IGV iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ($753M)
XLU State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF ($470M)
XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF ($325M)
SOXX iShares Semiconductor ETF ($245M)
KRE State Street SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF ($170M)

Issuer League Table Update

The top two issuers continue to dominate the EQ: Sector & Industry landscape, with SPDR holding 40.39% market share and Vanguard holding 24.60%. SPDR was also the top asset gatherer for the week, netting $1.15 billion in new inflows. Conversely, iShares experienced the largest weekly outflows among issuers, losing -$291 million.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
SPDR 28 $396.57B 40.39%
Vanguard 12 $241.49B 24.60%
iShares 49 $163.41B 16.64%
VanEck 14 $60.25B 6.14%
Fidelity 12 $36.13B 3.68%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
SPDR $1,154M
VanEck $457M
Vanguard $270M
Outflows
iShares -$291M
US Global -$83M
Schwab -$23M

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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.