Wall Street investors are rotating aggressively into defensive assets. Bank of America recorded record-breaking inflows into the consumer staples sector. Investors are de-risking portfolios by liquidating technology stocks.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) surged as a result of this rotation. Walmart serves as a primary component of the XLP fund.
In early February, the XLP fund rose by more than 1% for two consecutive trading days. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) declined by at least 1% during those same two sessions.
This specific decoupling between staples and tech has occurred only once before in market history. The previous occurrence took place in 2000, immediately preceding the dot-com bubble burst.