YTD Performance By S&P 500 Industry Sectors - January 8, 2010

Based on the year-to-date performance by the S&P 500 Index's industry sectors, market participants still believe that the economy is in the early stages of an economic recovery:

The industry sectors that are supposed to lead in the early expansion phase of the macroeconomic cycle are financials, materials and industrials, and they are leading.

However, we should keep an eye on the consumer discretionary and technology industry sectors to see if they continue to relinquish their leadership from 2009. They too should be leading at the beginning to the midpoint of an economic expansion phase.

Stay tuned........................