S&P 500 Industry Sector Performance Update - January 15, 2010

While one week is not a definitive guide to market direction, it is noteworthy that this past week saw a rotation away from those industry sectors that typically lead during economic expansions:

The Five Day S&P 500 Index Industry Sector Performance:

Is the market trying to tell us that the economic expansion is losing steam? In order for the market to go higher, it needs solid leadership and one would expect that leadership to come from the technology, materials, industrials and financial industry sectors at this point in time if the economic expansion is on track.

Last week's poor relative performance in these industry sectors is worthy of monitoring to see if it is a trend that continues. If it does continue, the market is telling us something that we ignore at our own peril. Stay tuned.............

The YTD S&P 500 Index Industry Sector Performance: