U.S. equity markets were mostly mixed this week, with modest gains in the major benchmarks masking weakness across several sectors. The NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM) rose 0.36%, while the S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) gained 0.11%, supported by strength in Energy (XLE), Technology (XLK), Utilities (XLU), and Health Care (XLV). However, Consumer Discretionary (XLY), Materials (XLB), Real Estate (XLRE), Industrials (XLI), Consumer Staples (XLP), and Communication Services (XLC) moved lower, indicating narrow market leadership. Stock-specific momentum remained strong, led by Moderna (MRNA), SanDisk (SNDK), A.P. Moller Maersk (AMKBY), Robinhood Markets (HOOD), Nebius Group (NBIS), and Vestas Wind Systems (VWDRY), highlighting continued strength across biotechnology, technology hardware, shipping, fintech, AI infrastructure, and clean energy names.
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Scroll to the bottom of this post for the detailed week in review performance of major ETFs by sector, best performing stocks, and detailed strategy notes.
Two of the most significant government-led nuclear energy programs are illustrating how quickly the advanced nuclear field is expanding. The Nuclear Energy Launch Pad added 13 reactor and fuel cycle technology projects to its development pipeline. The U.S. Army announced the long-awaited Project Janus to move five reactor development projects forward on military installations. The programs cover different stages of commercialization, together representing the broad nuclear renaissance. Contracts have been awarded to five companies but only one is public, BWX Technologies (BWXT). Operating as a virtual monopoly, BWXT is the sole manufacturer of nuclear reactors and fuel for the U.S. Navy. It is a primary beneficiary of massive government encouragement to build out nuclear energy channels. With a robust $8.4 billion backlog and commercial segments accelerating to feed AI-driven grid demand, it is highly favored by institutional value managers. BWXT is rated 3 by ValuEngine.
The four privately held companies are Westinghouse, Antares Industries, Radiant Nuclear and General Atomics. Interestingly, although Westinghouse has its headquarters, plant and workforce in Pennsylvania, it is almost entirely co-owned by two Canadian Companies, both publicly traded. Brookefield Asset Management (BAM) owns 51% and its affiliate Cameco Corporation (CCJ), a Saskatchewan based uranium-miner, has about 49%. Both have US listings. Cameco and Brookfield have formed the ultimate macro-power couple of the nuclear renaissance. This partnership effectively acts as a vertically integrated powerhouse controlling both the critical fuel supply (Cameco) and the premier nuclear hardware and financing ecosystem (Brookfield). Westinghouse will develop and deploy the eVinci microreactor in New York. The design recently hit a major milestone as the pilot version of the heat-pipe-cooled reactor reached initial criticality just last week. Of the companies directly involved in Project Janus and/or generally considered key players in the Nuclear Renaissance by industry experts, CCJ is the only one rated 4 (Buy) by ValuEngine.
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Other US-listed companies considered major players though not yet involved in Project Janis initiatives include utilities Constellation Energy (CEG) and Vistra Corp.(VST). Constellation is the undisputed titan of the U.S. nuclear landscape, operating America’s largest fleet of commercial reactors. Because its fleet is not rate-regulated, Constellation directly captures rising power prices. This structure paved the way for its landmark 20-year deal to revive the Three Mile Island facility as the Crane Clean Energy Center, solely to power Microsoft data centers. Vistra is a massive independent power producer with an extensive unregulated nuclear portfolio, including the prominent Comanche Peak plant in Texas. Vistra’s merchant model allows it to bypass restrictive state utility commissions, enabling it to recontract its zero-carbon nuclear capacity directly to enterprise cloud providers at premium pricing.
Also frequently mentioned as a player likely to be chosen for the next buildout of Project Janus is Curtis-Wright (CW), a government defense contractor with specific expertise in nuclear technologies. CEG, VST and CW are all rated 3 (Hold) as are the majority of stocks in our universe since we use a distribution somewhat similar to a bell curve with fewer buy rated than hold rated stocks. Some smaller cap players to keep an eye out for include Centrus Energy (LEU), the only US-licensed producer of high assay, low-enriched uranium, critical for powering next generation-advanced small modular reactors (SMRs). LEU is also rated 3.
For investors that prefer to diversify risks by investing in ETFs that own 4-rated CCJ along with many of the other stocks discussed here, there are two that own quite a few. They are VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR) and Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF (NUKZ). They were both buffeted badly in the first half of the year but have fared better since June 30. NUKZ is now up for the year although badly lagging the overall market with a 3.6% gain while NLR is still down 3.4%.
The first word that comes to mind when speaking about uranium is speculative. Yet, the country’s need to catch up to Europe in harnessing nuclear energy for all its power needs, especially data centers, is quite real and timely. It may be early to shift funds to these stocks and ETFs with Project Janus just getting off the ground. That said, this is a space well worth monitoring for future opportunities.
Weekly Market Recap – Week Ending Sep 04, 2026
September is historically the worst performing single month in the US Stock Market on a calendar basis. That usually doesn’t portend a full correction, but losing months are as frequent as winning months. The US market is currently having a good year with the State Street S&P 500 Index Portfolio ETF (SPYM) up 12.8%. However, it continues to underperform international developed and emerging markets as the profitability of international diversification continues to gain traction. The Vanguard Total International (ex-US) Stock ETF (VXUS) has gained 14.9%. This includes 0.8% last week in comparison to SPYM’s 0.1% weekly return. Analysts attribute the lion’s share of these differentials to the ever-declining US dollar with no sign of that trend breaking any time soon. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) has provided a strong relative reward with a year-to-date gain of nearly 20% and 0.9% last week.
The ebbing of international flows amidst a fluctuating dollar is well-substantiated by current macroeconomic indicators. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) experienced a sharp 9.4% drop heading into the current macro cycle. This structural soft patch has been driven by market adjustments to U.S. tariff uncertainties, twin deficits, and global monetary policy shifts. While headline gross cross-border flows into the U.S. look stable due to safe-haven status, net private flows reveal a different trend: U.S. institutional allocators have actively increased capital outflows by chasing cheaper relative valuations in Europe and emerging markets, reducing the default U.S.-heavy benchmark bias.
The good news for US investors is that domestic indexed retirement flows continue to function as an unbreakable floor for equities. Data highlights a massive structural chasm: long-term active funds recently suffered a net monthly outflow of $31.06 billion, whereas long-term index funds enjoyed contributions of a staggering $123.84 billion in a single month. Fueled by high corporate enrollment and automatic workplace contributions, average 401(k) and IRA balances have reached historic highs. This automatic, indexed liquidity continues to blindly bid up market-cap-weighted equities regardless of fundamental overvaluation.
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Professional value managers see this trend as opportunity. They are aggressively lightening up on overvalued mega-cap tech in favor of overlooked cyclicals. Sector ETFs recently bled billions driven heavily by a $6.1 billion single-month outflow from Technology. Institutional money is rotating straight into asset-heavy value sectors. Financials are benefiting from a steepening yield curve and a revival in corporate deal-making, while Energy has emerged as a premier macro winner. This is driven by strategic combinations and the explosive power demands required to fuel AI infrastructure and data centers. Conversely, broad defensive healthcare has been largely bypassed in favor of these raw economic security plays.
The market has developed into a bifurcated play for artificial intelligence and disruptive technologies. Mega-cap players possess the cash reserves to fund the massive infrastructure layer. Hyperscale capital expenditure is projected to soar toward an annual run-rate of $800 billion, boosting the physical supply chain. Active managers, exemplified by several of the ARK Asset Management funds, led by the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), are hunting for small-cap and specialized semiconductor, memory, and energy-adjacent hardware firms that directly service this build out. The appetite for domestically focused, small-cap innovators has pushed the Russell 2000 to significantly outperform large-cap indices during key rotational periods.
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.
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| Ticker | Name | VE Rating | Last Week’s Close Price | Weekly Change |
| QQQM | Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF | 5 | 296.07 | 0.36% |
| SCHD | Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF | 2 | 34.8 | -0.29% |
| SPYM | State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | 4 | 90.67 | 0.11% |
| VB | Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Index Fund ETF | 2 | 300.01 | -0.25% |
| XLB | State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF | 2 | 52.44 | -1.39% |
| XLC | State Street Com Svc Sel Sec SPDR ETF | 2 | 112.03 | -0.85% |
| XLE | State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 5 | 64.06 | 2.20% |
| XLF | State Street Financial Sel Sec SPDR ETF | 3 | 58.1 | 0.00% |
| XLI | State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF | 2 | 175.27 | -1.06% |
| XLK | State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | 5 | 187.28 | 0.86% |
| XLP | State Street Consumer Staples Sel Sect SPDR ETF | 1 | 84.58 | -1.02% |
| XLRE | State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF | 1 | 43.93 | -1.24% |
| XLU | State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF | 1 | 43.08 | 0.82% |
| XLV | State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF | 3 | 171.45 | 0.17% |
| XLY | State Street Consumer Disc Sel Sect SPDR ETF | 1 | 114.91 | -1.96% |
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| Ticker | Name | VE Rating | Last Close Price | Price 30 Days Ago | Monthly Difference |
| AMKBY | A P Moller Maersk A S Unsponsored Denmark ADR | 5 | 17.52 | 13.24 | 32.33% |
| NBIS | Nebius Group NV | 5 | 226.39 | 184.11 | 22.96% |
| VWDRY | Vestas Wind Systems AS ADR | 4 | 11.02 | 9.02 | 22.17% |
| Ticker | Name | VE Rating | Last Close Price | Price 30 Days Ago | Monthly Difference |
| MRNA | Moderna Inc | 5 | 145.55 | 59.81 | 143.35% |
| SNDK | SanDisk Corp | 5 | 1740 | 1237.92 | 40.56% |
| HOOD | Robinhood Markets Inc | 5 | 122.11 | 94.52 | 29.19% |
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