SPDR Consumer Staples ETFXLPTOP PICKMar 10, 2016Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 04, 2026. Market Open.
Rising interest rates have hurt all sectors except tech. Staples didn't find relief. Rather, investors stayed in tech and didn't buy staples. XLP's chart has been rangebound for the last 2 years, but he expects a bounce because investors this time of year barbell their portfolios to reduce risk.
Owning staples is good for a volatile market. This ETF holds classic staples, is coming off a sideways range, and is a good place to hold money through the summer and also for recessionary times and lower markets. There are no big gains or losses but it is predictable and he knows where to sell it since he has traded it many many times. Familiarity with trading the same stocks frequently is important. It is also very liquid.
The theme right now is defensive, and this is a defensive sector. His conditions for a bull market is that the market has to be above the 200 day moving average and making new highs, and it is not. He went out of the discretionary (XLY-N) which was starting to show some weakness lately. XLP is starting to break out of a long consolidation which is good news for that sector. Seasonally this one tends to take on in the summer, and he is in a bit early.