Weekly Market Recap – Week Ending Jul 31, 2026
Markets posted a modestly positive week, with the broad S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 ETFs gaining 1.05% and 0.87%, respectively, while small caps slipped 0.59%. Leadership was concentrated in Consumer Discretionary, which surged 4.74%, followed by Energy at 2.04%, whereas Utilities, Materials, Industrials and Real Estate recorded the steepest declines. Over the past month, energy names remained prominent among the strongest performers, led by Equinor (EQNR), Cenovus Energy (CVE) and Suncor (SU), while Cboe Global Markets (CBOE), Tenet Healthcare (THC) and Phillips 66 (PSX) also delivered gains of nearly 20% or more.
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In the below tables we use major ETF’s as a proxy for some major indexes as well as each of the sector groups into which we divide the overall markets. Tracking these over time provides a more defined picture of the US markets than simply tracking major indexes. This is followed by notable individual stock movers over the past month, and finally our full strategy outlook.
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | VE Rating | Last Week Start Date | Last Week Start Price | Week End Change |
| QQQM | Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF | 5 | 7/27/2026 | 280.86 | 0.87% |
| SCHD | Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF | 2 | 7/27/2026 | 33.43 | 0.12% |
| SPYM | State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | 4 | 7/27/2026 | 86.99 | 1.05% |
| VB | Vanguard Morningstar Small Cap ETF | 3 | 7/27/2026 | 296.88 | -0.59% |
| XLB | State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF | 1 | 7/27/2026 | 51.39 | -1.87% |
| XLC | State Street Com Svc Sel Sec SPDR ETF | 2 | 7/27/2026 | 107.66 | 0.54% |
| XLE | State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 3 | 7/27/2026 | 58.36 | 2.04% |
| XLF | State Street Financial Sel Sec SPDR ETF | 2 | 7/27/2026 | 56.88 | 0.11% |
| XLI | State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF | 3 | 7/27/2026 | 183.2 | -1.83% |
| XLK | State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | 5 | 7/27/2026 | 174.3 | 0.60% |
| XLP | State Street Consumer Staples Sel Sect SPDR ETF | 1 | 7/27/2026 | 85.36 | -0.36% |
| XLRE | State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF | 2 | 7/27/2026 | 45.76 | -1.51% |
| XLU | State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF | 1 | 7/27/2026 | 45.68 | -2.91% |
| XLV | State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF | 3 | 7/27/2026 | 163.4 | -0.52% |
| XLY | State Street Consumer Disc Sel Sect SPDR ETF | 1 | 7/27/2026 | 110.84 | 4.74% |
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| Ticker | Company Name | VE Rating | Last Close Price | Price 30 Days Ago | Monthly Change |
| EQNR | Equinor ASA | 4 | 41.1 | 32.06 | 28.20% |
| CVE | Cenovus Energy Incorporation | 4 | 30.19 | 24.36 | 23.93% |
| SU | Suncor Energy Inc (Canada) | 5 | 67.28 | 54.91 | 22.53% |
| Ticker | Company Name | VE Rating | Last Close Price | Price 30 Days Ago | Monthly Change |
| CBOE | Cboe Global Markets Inc | 4 | 310.23 | 245.08 | 26.58% |
| THC | Tenet Healthcare Corp | 5 | 254.78 | 206.19 | 23.57% |
| PSX | Phillips 66 | 5 | 211.68 | 177.33 | 19.37% |
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Strategy Note:
July saw below-average returns for that particular month, but the most notable postscript was the strength of the continued market rotation from tech into value. While the S&P 500 escaped the month as measured by the lowest cost S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) with an 0.2% gain, the Nasdaq lost more than 5% (QQQ). The StateStreet Select Sector SPDR Technology ETF (XLK) did even worse losing 5.5% in the week. August will be fighting against history for those looking for a rebound. It ranks as the 2nd worst month of the calendar year based on historical data tracked from 2001 through 2025, and technology has generally under-performed.
Meanwhile, the macro focus shifts to the July employment data. Analysts will also be closely watching the employment, jobless claims and non-farm payrolls report for this week. Perhaps more importantly, about 25% of companies in the S&P 500 and 20% in the Russell 3000 are due to report this week.
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