A Potential Opportunity in Utilities
Key Points:
- Like most sectors, Utilities have shown weakness in recent weakness - but not as much as most other sectors
- Despite this weakness, the combination of oversold conditions and a favorable seasonal period may provide an opportunity to play the long side in the months ahead
- The State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) allows traders to play the utility sector
Utilities have sold off… but not as much as most sectors
In the chart below, we see the price action for the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU).

The bad news is that the sector has sold off in recent weeks. The good news is that it is still holding well above its 200-day moving average and is only slightly more than 6% off its February high. In other words, it is acting like the defensive sector it is purported to be. Is that a good enough reason to hold utilities? By itself, possibly not. But there are two other factors that might make utilities an interesting play in the months ahead.
XLU Bollinger Bands flashed a favorable signal
Our XLU % below BBand indicator shows the percentage of S&P 500 Utility Sector Index stocks that are currently below their re
