Financials sector vs S&P 500 (XLF): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XLF has outperformed the S&P 500 by 4.9 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XLF sits on the rotation map
Financials highlighted against the 11 broad S&P 500 sectors. Vertical: 1-month spread vs the S&P 500. Horizontal: the longer, time-shifted window — the methodology explains the math.
XLF vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XLF (financials) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XLF won that window.
Data as of 2026-07-22 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Financials (XLF) has just turned the corner. Over the longer, time-shifted window it trailed the S&P 500 by 2.7 points, but over the past month it has moved decisively ahead of the market — a 4.9-point edge that puts it in the improving quadrant. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #26 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, XLF's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. XLF's relative-strength line is holding around its moving averages — the trend is intact but no longer extending. The longer trend remains healthier than the recent tape suggests — the kind of divergence worth rechecking in a week.
The exposure comes via Financial Select Sector SPDR, whose 76 tracked holdings are led by JPMORGAN CHASE & CO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B and VISA INC CLASS A. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 21.3× earnings and 6.0× sales. The thing to watch from here is confirmation: improving groups that hold a positive one-month spread long enough for the longer window to turn are the classic early-rotation entries — the ones that fail fall back quickly.
What's inside XLF
Top 10 of 76 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Financials vs the market — common questions
Is financials outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, yes: over the past month XLF has outperformed the S&P 500 by 4.9 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XLF?
XLF is Financial Select Sector SPDR, the fund Zensei uses to measure the financials group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XLF?
XLF's largest tracked positions are JPMORGAN CHASE & CO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B, VISA INC CLASS A, MASTERCARD INC CLASS A, BANK OF AMERICA CORP — 76 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is available with a free Zensei account.
What quadrant is financials in right now?
As of the latest daily data, financials is in the improving quadrant — behind the market over the longer window, but ahead over the past month. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track financials against the whole market
Zensei Edge maps 100+ sectors and themes against the S&P 500 — with the stocks inside each one, rotation history and alerts when leadership changes hands.