Financial Depreciation:
I wanted to take a look at the performance of all the major S&P sectors on a 6 month time frame, since that is roughly the period since we saw the sizable drawdown last year. The financials have not put up a good showing being just one of four in the red. The XLF as you can see is second to last, outpacing just the awful energy group. Both of these spaces seem to be widow makers, teasing investors with seemingly decent bottoming moves only to pull the rug out just when you thought it was safe to dip your toes back in. Interesting on a side note how real estate and utilities in the last 6 months have shown real firmness.
Berkshire Influence:
I have to admit I was surprised to see BRKB was the largest component in the XLF at more than 12%. The XLF itself I am not a real fan of but let us take a look at the stock itself. It trades 9% off most recent 52 week highs and is in the midst of a symmetrical triangle pattern, which could break either way. The oracle has had some hiccups as of late with KHC, and his huge investment in AAPL which has turned around. The financials as a whole however may see some energy soon with the bevy of IPOs about to come public this year.
Examples:
The financial space has been a tough on to navigate overall, but some individual names were above to sidestep the volatility in fine fashion. Below is an example of the chart of HDB and how it appeared in our 3/15 Financial Game Plan. This Indian bank is acting very well compared to its domestic counterparts and currently trades just 2% off most recent all time highs. It is on a current 6 week winning streak and the week ending 3/22 broke above a 112.20 WEEKLY cup base pivot. The pattern was 8 months in duration and the greater the base the greater the space on the breakout. Would be careful not to deposit gains to quickly here, pun intended.