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It’s been a rough year for the US stock market so far, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at year-to-date returns for energy and healthcare shares, based on a set of ETFs through Friday’s close (Mar. 21). Both equity sectors are posting strong gains in 2025, marking them as standout winners when the market overall is nursing a moderate loss.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE: ) is up 8.0% so far this year, far ahead of the broad market, which is nursing a 3.5% year-to-date loss. Healthcare stocks (XLV) are a strong runner-up performer, rising 6.6%.
US Equity Sectors: ETF Performance SPDR ETF (XLE)
Most equity sectors are posting gains this year, but the advances are mild and in some cases trivial. Meanwhile, there’s nothing trivial about the red ink for the losers: technology (XLK) and consumer discretionary stocks (XLY) are the downside outliers in 2025 with losses of 8.0% and 12.0%, respectively.
The winning energy and healthcare sectors offer a bullish compliment to the rest of the field, but there are caveats to consider. For energy, trading has been choppy and range-bound. The lack of trend suggests that the near-term outlook remains mixed at best.
Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE)
Healthcare looks more encouraging from the technical perspective. After bottoming in late-2024, XLV has rebounded, although it’s stalled recently.
are stocks (XLV)
In an interview last week, Morningstar’s director of healthcare equity research said part of the sector’s strength lately is the rebound effect after a rough December.
“Healthcare stocks had a really hard time [at the end of 2024]. There was a lot of fear about regulatory and policy changes under the new Trump administration. So part of it is kind of a rebound, I think, from that,” she added.
She also notes that the biopharma firms she covers, representing about half the US market cap in healthcare, “just had very strong fourth-quarter results, very strong outlook for 2025. I think a lot of good solid responses to those published earnings.”
The uncertainty factor that’s weighed on the market generally has also been helpful for healthcare, she explains.
Energy And Healthcare Stocks Are Big Winners This Year
