NYSEArca - Delayed Quote ? USD The Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB) Follow 97.63 +0.39 (+0.40%) At close: October 18 at 4:00 PM EDT 97.83 +0.20 (+0.20%) After hours: October 18 at 7:54 PM EDT All News Press Releases SEC Filings All SEC Filings Corporate Changes & Voting Matters Periodic Financial Reports Proxy Statements Tender Offer/Acquisition Reports Offering Registrations China and Middle East tensions push commodities into the spotlight: Morning Brief A confluence of geopolitical factors has suddenly turned somewhat sleepy commodities into must-watch markets. Yahoo Finance ? 17 days ago ^DJI SPY ^IXIC Labor market in focus, port strike looms ahead: Morning Brief On today's episode of Morning Brief, Hosts Seana Smith and Madison Mills analyze the market open and discuss some of the biggest stories of the trading day. All three of the major indexes (^DJI,^GSPC, ^IXIC) opened slightly lower on the last trading day of the third quarter. While September is a historically weak month for stocks, markets are on track for one of the strongest in over a decade as they rallied on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. Envestnet Solutions co-CIO and group president Dana D’Auria notes that while inflation continues to cool, all eyes have now turned to the state of the labor market. D’Auria stresses the importance of the upcoming September jobs data, explaining that employment data will be the "single biggest factor" weighed by the Fed ahead of its next interest rate decision. She argues that the market has been "overshooting on expectations of the Fed pretty substantially and pretty regularly." With some investors are pricing in another 50-basis-point cut in November, she pushes back, saying, "I wouldn't expect more than another 25-25 this year." As markets enter the fourth quarter, growth is visibly expanding beyond the tech sector. Charles Schwab's Director and Senior Investment Strategist Kevin Gordon explains that there isn't a "definitive leadership shift" from tech to defensive sectors. Instead, he observes that utilities (XLU) and related sectors are playing "catch-up" following the AI-driven tech boom. Notably, sectors like industrials (XLI), financials (XLF), and materials (XLB) are outperforming as cyclical parts of the market fare "relatively well." Gordon characterizes this as a broadening of the market rather than a clear-cut leadership change. Ports along the East and Gulf Coasts are bracing for a strike at midnight, as the International Longshoremen's Union is demanding higher pay and protection from automation for its port workers. Margaret Kidd, University of Houston instructional associate professor of supply chain and logistics technology, tells Yahoo Finance that some estimates project that a port strike could cost the US $5 billion per day. She notes that the last port strike was in 1977 and lasted for 45 days. Back then, trade only made up 16% of the US economy. Today, that figure is 28%; therefore, a port strike would be a "huge hit on the economy," Kidd explains. Meanwhile, the Boeing (BA) factory worker strike heads into its third week, with the union reporting talks with the company have broken off. Wall Street analysts have lowered their targets for Boeing stocks, citing costs associated with the strike. This post was written by Melanie Riehl Yahoo Finance Video ? 19 days ago XLU +0.58% ^GSPC ^DJI Should You Invest in the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB)? Sector ETF report for XLB Zacks ? 19 days ago XLB +0.40% Is Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials ETF (RSPM) a Strong ETF Right Now? Smart Beta ETF report for RSPM Zacks ? 24 days ago ^GSPC XLB +0.40% Should You Invest in the Vanguard Materials ETF (VAW)? Sector ETF report for VAW Zacks ? 26 days ago XLB +0.40% Is First Trust Materials AlphaDEX ETF (FXZ) a Strong ETF Right Now? Smart Beta ETF report for FXZ Zacks ? 29 days ago XLB +0.40% Should You Invest in the First Trust Materials AlphaDEX ETF (FXZ)? Sector ETF report for FXZ Zacks ? last month XLB +0.40% Should You Invest in the Fidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF (FMAT)? Sector ETF report for FMAT Zacks ? last month XLB +0.40% Should You Invest in the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials ETF (RSPM)? Sector ETF report for RSPM Zacks ? last month ^GSPC XLB +0.40% Cyclicals, US dollar, August volatility: Market Takeaways The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed Thursday's session at a new record high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and S&P 500 ^GSPC) slipped slightly into negative territory after Nvidia's (NVDA) second quarter earnings beat that failed to impress Wall Street investors. Yahoo Finance markets and data editor Jared Blikre joins Josh Lipton on Asking for a Trend to highlight the biggest themes from the trading, including this week's gains in cyclical sectors, patterns pointing to a reversal in the US dollar, and market volatility (^VIX) seen in August trading. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Asking for a Trend. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan. Yahoo Finance Video ? last month XLV +0.49% XLE -0.33% XLF +0.02% Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM)? Sector ETF report for IYM Zacks ? last month XLB +0.40% These investments are being 'disguised' by Big Tech 'wreck' Despite a global market sell-off in Monday's trading session, Fundstrat Global Advisors managing director and global head of technical strategy Mark Newton believes there are still healthy areas of the market. He joins Market Domination to discuss some of the investment opportunities overlooked during the day's market pullback. Newton points to the XLB healthcare sector ETF (XLB) as one opportunity for investors, as it has steadily grown in 2024 and hit record highs despite an ongoing sell-off since mid-July. He also highlights that equal-weighted industrials and financial ETFs from Invesco — (RSPN) and (RSPF) — both hit new all-time highs last week. He notes that these areas of the market are being "disguised" and "camouflaged" by the "Big Tech wreck." "Investors have been overexposed, have huge concentration in technology. So a big sell-off like that in an area which is a major focus certainly hurts," Newton adds. "But I would say that honestly, for those that diversify, there are plenty of parts of the market that are still working well. And now with a big breakdown on the dollar, that eventually is going to start to aid emerging markets when we can see a little bit of stabilization to this." Despite bitcoin (BTC-USD) having its worst week since November 2022, Newton argues that the movement is "really just a drop in the bucket" : "I don't see much more deterioration beyond really the mid to high 40s. And I think we will bottom and we can pull out of this. But it is going to be important for the broader risk asset space to stabilize. It's very unusual and unlikely to see bitcoin simply surge back to new highs if the rest of the world is falling apart. So we need to really see some effort and dollar-yen holding to see rates go down a little bit less severely." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Melanie Riehl Yahoo Finance Video ? 2 months ago ^DJI XLB +0.40% RSPN What's in Store for Materials ETFs in Q2 Earnings? Going into the Q2 earnings season, earnings releases from the sector giants will determine the movement of these funds. Zacks ? 2 months ago XLB +0.40% NEM APD The 3 Most Undervalued Materials Stocks to Buy in June 2024 Companies operating in the materials space provide a lifeline to a variety of industrial businesses. Materials companies typically develop chemicals and manufacture construction materials as well as paper products. High interest rates, brought upon by persistent inflationary pressures, have broadly taken a toll on revenue growth and profit margins of material stocks. In particular, elevated rates have disincentivized spending on new automobiles and made construction companies and their real esta InvestorPlace ? 4 months ago RIO VMC XLB +0.40% One stock is dragging down the S&P 500's earnings growth S&P 500 companies have had a solid Q1 earnings season, with one key exception: drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb. Yahoo Finance ? 5 months ago ^GSPC XLV +0.49% XLB +0.40% Nvidia earnings, geopolitics could offer needed market 'catalysts' As company earnings continue to beat Wall Street expectations, US Equities (^GSPC, ^DJI, ^IXIC) are rising from April lows. The market has also begun to price in the Federal Reserve's policy of keeping higher interest rates for longer, but is there more for investors to consider for the next few months? Horizon Investments Chief Investment Officer Scott Ladner and Freedom Capital Markets Chief Global Strategist Jay Woods join Market Domination to provide insight into navigating the market during the current economic environment. Ladner argues that the market needs a new catalyst. In the absence of any large upcoming catalyst, investors may be staring down a more challenging few months: "We could actually have some, some positive catalysts from the geopolitical standpoint. But I don't see anything huge on the horizon, frankly. I mean, I think this is gonna be a bit of a grinder, probably a little bit grinder for the next few months, but grinding up rather than down. " Woods questions how far earnings can carry the market: "Individual earnings, they're not enough to take that next leg higher. Amazon (AMZN) made a new high today. It's on the verge of a major breakout. If you look at it on a weekly chart, it hasn't taken us there. Alphabet (GOOG,GOOGL), did, Microsoft (MSFT) didn't on solid earnings. So we're not seeing that euphoria. We're not seeing that tailwind we want to see. " For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino Yahoo Finance Video ? 5 months ago ARM DIS XLRE +0.70% 10 Best Construction Materials Stocks To Invest In Right Now In this article, we discuss the 10 best construction materials stocks to invest in right now. To skip our detailed analysis, go directly to the 5 Best Construction Materials Stocks To Invest In Right Now. After a long rally since the October lows, the market experienced a pullback in April as the S&P 500 went […] Insider Monkey ? 5 months ago MLM SUM ^GSPC Will Materials ETFs Gain Further as Q1 Earnings Unfold? Going into the Q1 earnings season, earnings releases from the sector giants will determine the movement of these funds. Zacks ? 5 months ago XLB +0.40% NEM APD Why stocks could still rise even as rate cut hopes fade Wall Street strategists believe stocks can keep moving higher even as rate cut hopes dampen as long as the outlook for earnings and the economy remain positive. Yahoo Finance ? 6 months ago ^RUT XLI +0.30% ^TNX Stocks just had their best first quarter in 5 years — here's where strategists think the market is headed With stocks off to their best start in five years, many strategists on Wall Street still make a case for the S&P 500 to keep chugging higher. Yahoo Finance ? 6 months ago ^GSPC ^DJI XLI +0.30% Performance Overview Trailing returns as of 10/18/2024. Category is Natural Resources. Return XLB Category YTD +15.60% +6.21% 1-Year +29.11% +12.05% 3-Year +7.28% +7.24%