“Healthy Chart?”:
Even some of the most defensive names within healthcare are not providing the buffer they are usually accustomed to doing. There are few places to hide. Some names are holding up well, or probably better said “going down less” than other stocks. In the XLV one can look at MRK and say it recorded a bullish engulfing candle Thursday and is holding its 50 day SMA well. CVS has put up a nice fight following its bounce right off the very round par number Monday. ABBV has been a stellar performer and ABT filled in a gap from the 10/19/21 session Wednesday with a bullish inverted hammer candle. Below we have the actual chart of the XLV and so far YTD it has not been immune from the selling down 9.3% (10 of 11 major S&P sectors are in the red in 2022 so far). On the ratio chart at the bottom one can see it is at a critical juncture. Weakness is nothing new to the group as it has negative returns on a one, three, and six-month look-back period. Keep an eye on the select names bucking the instability.