S&P 500 Sector Sentiment — 2026-01-08
S&P 500 Sector Sentiment — 2026-01-08
Current tone: neutral
Latest score: 37.4/100
Cross-sector dispersion: 53.6 pts
In today's market update, the S&P 500 sector sentiment remains neutral. The material and healthcare sectors are leading the way, while consumer staples and utilities lag behind. Keep an eye on our forward return playbook for insights into the forward returns of these sectors. Remember, understanding the leaders and laggards within each sector can help you navigate forward with confidence.
Forward return playbook (SPX)
Historical medians and hit ratios from past dates that looked similar to today (conditional on the sentiment regime + a tight score band).
| Horizon | Median SPX | Hit Ratio | N |
|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 1M | 1.0% | 62.3% | 231 |
| 3M | 1.4% | 59.7% | 231 |
| 6M | -0.1% | 49.8% | 231 |
| 12M | 4.9% | 61.5% | 231 |
Sector map (0=cold, 100=hot)
Leading / Hot
- Materials: 59.0/100
- Health Care: 56.7/100
- Financials: 56.7/100
Lagging / Cold
- Consumer Staples: 5.4/100
- Utilities: 9.0/100
- Technology: 12.8/100
Neutral
- Industrials: 53.6/100
- Real Estate: 48.9/100
- Comm. Services: 43.6/100
- Consumer Disc.: 27.7/100
Read-through
- Higher dispersion usually means stock selection and factor tilts matter more than pure index direction.
- Use the playbook as a bias check, then size risk around the sector map (leaders vs laggards).
