SECTOR SEARCH
Quarterly Preview
In this episode of our Sector Search - Quarterly Preview blog, we will discuss the upcoming quarter’s sectors/industries in focus. As noted in our previous Sector Search – Finding Sectors blog, dated 6-25-24, many investors/traders choose to utilize Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), rather than more volatile individual stocks, as explained in our publication When to Buy and When to Sell: Combining easy Indicators, Charts and Financial Astrology (available on Amazon). ETFs provide shares from a “basket” of stocks from the same sector/industry, reducing the risk of owning just one company. Please also review our Sector Search – ‘Tis the Season blog, dated 5-27-25, for a better understanding of sector rotation and seasonality.
As discussed in that blog, there are certain segments/sectors of the equities markets (as well as specific stocks), that tend to trade in cycles based on the calendar, making “sector-rotation” a popular strategy utilized by many professional traders (also discussed in our Sector Search – Morning Scan blog, dated 10-25-24). As always, when choosing a specific stock, selection is key and a good barometer is to lean towards the best stocks in the strongest sector (for bullish positions), and the worst stocks in the weakest sector (for bearish positions). This does not mean, however, that the price action in these months or quarters begins on the very first day, or ends on the last, so continue to perform due diligence (including fundamental and/or technical analysis) before opening a position. Also, be sure to consider economic conditions, unusual news events, interest rate policies, and/or the next earnings announcement (for single stocks), as they all can affect the flow of the cycle. Finally, remember that these historical figures lend to the probability of a repeated outcome, not the certainty of it.
During the 3rd Quarter, previous leading sectors including Financials and Utilities have nosedived based on rising interest rates. Real Estate and Consumer Discretionary have also been hit hard, with inflation, rising mortgage rates, the military conflict status, and extremely low consumer sentiment. Quarter-end window dressing (where fund managers replace losing stocks with winning stocks), and the annual Russell Re-Alignment (see our Financial Focus – Russell Re-Alignment blog, dated 6-1-26) boosted stocks for a short time (as expected), but July, the historically 2nd strongest month of the year for equities over the past few decades, was flat. More of the same was experienced in August and September, with non-directional trade and no clear trend.
This year, the 4th Quarter contains the Mid-term Elections, which we have discussed in recent blogs. The history of this event includes high volatility leading up to the first week of November, with possible pullbacks. Following this event, however, markets tend to gain momentum, after investor uncertainty calms down. Consumer-related stocks tend to rise as the annual holiday shopping season kicks in, however, they are highly interest rate sensitive, and further hikes may continue the negative effect on these stocks. Precious metals, real estate, and technology will likely remain volatile, and energy may continue to spike if the military conflict is not resolved.
Astrologically speaking, the planet Jupiter is known to heavily effect certain sectors related to the sign in which it is positioned, as it expands energies and has a mostly positive connotation (please see Chapter 4 of our publication and our Planet Power - Jupiter Effect blog, dated 3-27-24 for more details). This planet generally remains in a sign for about 1 year, which relates to strong energies for about 3-4 quarters. The planet entered the sign of Leo (June 30), where it will remain until July of 2027. This symbolizes potential gains in sectors like gold, solar, and art/entertainment/travel type related stocks, while Pluto in Aquarius and Uranus in Gemini will continue the AI, space, quantum computing, and robotics themes much longer term.
The 3rd Quarter was highlighted by another Mercury Retrograde, from June 29 to July 23. These periods, as stated repeatedly in the past, often result in significant pullbacks and heavy volatility in the markets. On this instance, the retrograde occurred in the sign of Cancer (ruled by the Moon), an emotion-based water sign, during the seasonally strong Cancer season. This retrograde was expected to be less severe than usual, but possibly temper the usual strength of July, which was the case.
As we mentioned in the June 28 Sector Search blog, the skies were very busy in the 3rd Quarter as Jupiter changed from Cancer to Leo, Mars conjunct Uranus on July 4th, Saturn turned retrograde (July 26), a Solar Eclipse occurred in Leo on August 12, the North Node changed from Pisces to Aquarius (the historical bottom of the business cycle) on August 18, a Lunar Eclipse occurred on August 28, and a Uranus Retrograde began on September 10. All of these aspects symbolize change, reversals, volatility, and uncertainty, and a summer of non-directional price action with many ups-and-downs was expected .
Jupiter’s transit on the very last day of the 2nd Quarter, from Cancer to Leo, transferred its energies from home and family, to the self and creativity. With Uranus now in Gemini (intelligence, advanced technology, but 2-sided), combined with Pluto in Aquarius (which began late last year) a period of global military conflict and extreme price action was expanded (Jupiter). As noted, the 3rd Quarter was high in intra-day volatility, making it difficult for short term traders (Uranus).
Some important transits/aspects through the 4th Quarter of 2026 includes an immediate Venus Retrograde (Oct 3 – Nov 14) and another Mercury Retrograde (Oct 24 – Nov 15), both of which tend to be times of volatility and potential price drops. The planet Pluto will turn direct from its current retrograde in mid-December, which may lift some of the restrictions if negative conditions ease.
As mentioned, the “inner” planets (Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars), also possess significations regarding sector influence, with the Moon often used for day-trading, while Mercury, Venus, and Mars can be used for swing-trading.
Please stay tuned for future “Sector Search” blogs, as well as other related blogs, that include industries to focus on during specific economic and astrological conditions.
***As always, this information is not intended to be financial advice, or any specific buy or sell recommendation, but rather a guide to assist the reader in some further understanding of current economic conditions/movements in the sky, and how they can affect moods, behaviors, world events, and financial markets.
