I recently showed several sectors weighing on the stock market. Here are several more that have lagged the large cap averages during November and thus far in December: S&P 600 small caps ($SML; top chart); energy stocks (XLE; middle chart); and insurance shares ($KIX; bottom chart). Energy issues are particularly interesting, given the recent weakness in oil prices. That isn't exactly what we'd expect if investors were anticipating that world economies are growing.
I like to watch how these lagging sectors behave during market bounces to see if the market regimes are changing or not. If the underperformers continue to underperform, I am less likely to expect a major shift of trend.
.
