Brute Performance:
The industrials have been on the move higher and the XLI is holding its own in 2024 up more than 5% so far, making it the 5th best-acting major S&P sector. Transportation services and trucking subgroups have been the best performers. Stinking up the joint have been the delivery services plays with UPS and FDX struggling, although we have to give the latter credit for making a stand where we thought it had to here. On the WEEKLY chart below, one can see the nice steady action higher since the completion of the bullish morning star candle the last week of October 2023 (notice the cup base breakout near 110 was successfully retested before resuming its strong rally). On the MONTHLY chart notice how it has been robust against the S&P 500 on the ratio chart since the COVID lows, and this time feels different after the powerful back-to-back MONTHLY showings which CLOSED at the top of the range in October-November 2022 and again in June-July 2023. This month with a few sessions left is extending its gains for February, unlike the prior 2 examples, a good sign.