A concise, evidence-based explanation of what changed across markets, where leadership is emerging, and what investors should monitor next. Published every Tuesday morning.
MTUM +1.4% vs. S&P 500 −0.2% this week.
The S&P 500 advanced for the week while the median constituent declined, leaving index-level strength alongside weaker participation underneath.
The S&P 500 remains close to its high, but participation has narrowed and the Momentum factor sits further below its own peak.
2026 is producing the strongest comparable year-to-date commodity return in the 20-year available DBC sample, led by energy rather than gold, while the S&P 500's Strong trend holds alongside narrower sector and constituent participation.
The S&P 500 was little changed to start September, but the quiet index return masked much larger moves beneath the surface.
Long Treasuries returned +1.0% for the week. Energy remained the leading S&P 500 sector year-to-date at +40.2% and represented 3.6% of the float-adjusted S&P 500 at the latest weekly observation.
Real assets extended their lead while broad equity participation remained positive but weakened at the shorter horizon.
Former equity leaders weakened during the quarter as commodities remained strong and long-duration bonds stayed under pressure.