Eight of Eleven Sectors Fell. Healthcare Went the Other Way

Healthcare rose 0.63% Thursday while the ten-year climbed to 5.17%, and it's one of three sectors at 20% in the even-weight strategy. Futures are green this morning, and Michigan's inflation expectations land at 10:00.

Brad Roth
September 25, 2026

TL;DR

• Healthcare gained 0.63% Thursday, the second-best of the eleven American sectors. Eight of eleven finished lower.

• S&P 500 futures are up 0.41% and Nasdaq 100 futures 0.72%, with the ten-year at 5.173%. West Texas is down 2.31% at $92.42.

• The even-weight strategy owns healthcare, technology and financials at 20% each, with 40% in Treasury bills paying 4.17%. The index strategy splits evenly across the Nasdaq 100, the S&P 500 and the Dow.

Market Pulse

Futures as of 7:22 AM ET

• S&P 500 futures are up 0.41% at 7,735.50.

• Nasdaq 100 futures add 0.72% at 30,699.80.

• Dow futures rise 0.39% at 51,548.00.

• Russell 2000 futures are up 0.50% at 2,849.70.

Thursday finished close to flat. The S&P 500 slipped 0.08%, the Nasdaq 100 0.01% and the Dow 0.31%. Only three sectors closed green. Communication services led, up 1.27%, then healthcare at 0.63% and energy at 0.37%. Materials was last, down 1.19%.

• West Texas trades $92.42, down 2.31%. Brent is $104.94, down 1.56%.

• Gold is $4,347.45, up 1.15%. Silver jumped 2.19% and copper is flat.

• The three-month bill yields 4.170%, the two-year 4.887%, the ten-year 5.173% and the thirty-year 5.466%.

• Euro/dollar is 1.1401 and the dollar buys 157.75 yen, down 0.69%. Volatility futures are 17.59. Bitcoin trades $84,945.

• Germany's GfK consumer climate fell to -30.6 against -27.1 expected. Durable goods orders land at 8:30 and Michigan sentiment at 10:00.

THOR Risk Gauge

Cautiously constructive. The index strategy is 99.7% invested across all three major American indexes. The even-weight strategy is 60% in equities and 40% in bills. A ten-year near 5.17% is still the main risk, but crude is falling and futures are green.

The THOR View

Healthcare is 20.2% of the even-weight strategy, and Thursday showed why it's there. The sector rose 0.63% on a day eight of eleven sectors fell and the ten-year added to its highest level since 2007. Drug and device demand doesn't slow because mortgage rates crossed 7%. Hospital volumes don't track the price of diesel. Its earnings answer to patients and pipelines. Utilities and staples, the two sectors most often bought as safety, fell 0.98% and 0.89% Thursday. Healthcare earned its place through its trend, and it closed 3.8% below its 52-week high.

The index strategy splits almost evenly, 33.8% in the Nasdaq 100, 33.2% in the S&P 500 and 33.1% in the Dow. Thursday was a narrow day. The equal-weight S&P 500 lost 0.50% while the cap-weighted index slipped 0.08%, so a handful of large names did the lifting. The Nasdaq 100 is where those names live, and it finished flat. This morning it leads the four futures, up 0.72%. Three even pieces means the strategy owns the concentrated winners without betting everything on them. The Dow and the S&P 500 carry the rest of the market.

Two-fifths of the even-weight strategy sits in Treasury bills, and the three-month yields 4.170% this morning. That's a real return with almost no price risk. A bill matures at par in three months. The long end works differently. The twenty-year-plus Treasury fund fell 1.29% Thursday alone as the thirty-year pushed toward 5.47%. The bill position collects the same high short rate without owning any of that duration.

Signal Watch

THOR Index Rotation — As of 9/24/26

Fully invested at 99.7%, in three even pieces. The Nasdaq 100 captures the large growth names that led Thursday. The Dow and the S&P 500 spread the rest across the whole market.

THOR Low Volatility — As of 9/24/26

One defensive, one growth and one cyclical sector, each at 20%. Together the three finished ahead of the S&P 500 Thursday. The bill position pays 4.17% while the other seven sectors work out their trends.

THOR AdaptiveRisk Dynamic — As of 9/24/26

The mix runs 58.9% equity, 15.5% commodity, 14.6% specialty currency and 4.9% fixed income, with 6.0% in alternatives. The dollar position and the gold position pull against each other this morning, with the yen up 0.69% and gold up 1.15%. The rate hedge grew to 4.9% from 4.7% as long yields kept rising.

One Thing to Watch

Michigan's one-year inflation expectations land at 10:00, with 4.6% expected against 4.0% last month. A reading that high makes near-term rate cuts harder to argue for. That keeps short rates up, and it's exactly what the 40% bill position gets paid on.

Brad Roth / CIO, THOR Financial Technologies

This content reflects the opinions, analyses, and research of THOR Financial Technologies as of the date published. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results, and all investments involve risk. For more information, please go to: thorft.com