Providing Relief:
The diverse healthcare sector is not an easy one to keep on top of. Looking at the five ETFs one most focuses on, the providers via the IHF was the best actor this week. The IHF also rose 1.9% (IHI rose by the same amount, although Friday did record a bearish counterattack candle). The XBI XLV and PPH rose between 1.6 and .7% this week. This is nothing new as the providers have been overlooked, but within healthcare it is the strongest subsector on one, three and six month timeframes (in fact on the 3 month look back period the IHF rose 28%, more than 10 handles above the second best space in biotech that jumped 18%). The reason this is my esteemed sub group is that the ETF is not as extended like the XBI or XLV. The IHF is just a few percentage points above a long cup base breakout. Top holding UNH is having issues with the very round 300 number, as it registered a bearish engulfing candle their precisely on 12/20/19. It most likely is a temporary roadblock, as it has risen 13 of the last 15 weeks.