XLC ETF

The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF Fund is poised for significant returns due to strong earnings growth, cheap valuations, and diversification. The communication services sector, led by Meta, Alphabet, and Netflix, is expected to benefit from increased internet usage, AI technology, and economic trends in 2025. XLC offers a balanced portfolio of growth and defensive stocks, with lower downside risk and higher risk-adjusted returns compared to peers.

As Big Bank earnings beat Wall Street's expectations, Charles Schwab chief investment strategist Liz Ann Sonders adds the financials sector (XLF) to her list of growth sectors: communication services (XLC), consumer discretionary (XLY), and tech (XLK). Despite her expectations that these four sectors will grow, the strategist tells Catalysts Co-Hosts Madison Mills and Seana Smith that only two sectors have an Outperform rating and outlines why sector-based investing may not be the best strategy.

The final trades of the day with CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders.

State Street Global Advisors have revamped the weighting and rebalancing methodology for their 11 Select Sector SPDR® Funds, significantly impacting funds like XLK and XLC. The new system mitigates extreme rebalancing by capping weights at 24% and ensuring a more balanced distribution among top holdings. These changes aim to lower turnover and create smoother rebalancing, benefiting all Select Sector SPDR ETFs and potentially improving performance.

Sector-oriented exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer a way to gain exposure to an entire portfolio of companies that may be benefiting from trends in the market. They provide diversification from the business-specific risk of investing in just individual companies.

While the US stock market recovered recent losses, the risk of a downtrend is still high due to lofty valuations. However, the outlook for double-digit growth, rate cuts, and soft landing could drive market higher. As the market can swing either way, investment vehicles like the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR® ETF Fund could be the best option to deal with uncertainty.

The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC is probably on the radar for investors seeking momentum. The fund just hit a 52-week high and is up 36.6% from its 52-week low of $62.82 per share.

2024 has been a strong year for stock picking and sector rotations, with XLC leading as the best performing sector ETF YTD. XLC is heavily weighted towards META and GOOGL, with the top 10 stocks making up a large portion of the fund. The composition of XLC reflects the convergence between technology, media, and telecom, but may be too disparate for some investors to consider buying.

The US stock market is expected to continue its bull run in 2024, with analysts predicting the S&P 500 to reach around 5400 points. The Federal Reserve is expected to initiate rate cuts, which will likely add to the bull run and increase market activity. The communication services sector, including top holdings in the XLC ETF such as Meta, Alphabet, and Netflix, is expected to generate strong earnings growth and contribute to the ETF's upside.