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The Week

UTES.US fell 1.59% this week to $74.96, while the S&P 500 lost 0.8%, leaving the ETF roughly 0.79 percentage points behind. The week had a fade pattern: Tuesday (Sep 8) opened strong and tagged a high of $77.71 before settling at $77.06, then the fund pulled back through Wednesday and closed at $74.96 on both Thursday and Friday, with a 4-day range of 3.87%. The latest price sits just below its 20-day average ($75.375) and well below the 60-day average ($78.561), in the lower half of its 60-session band. Weekly liquidity was ordinary, with average daily volume about 6% above its median.

Sector News

The utilities complex was dominated by AI power and nuclear headlines this week. Google’s revived nuclear project secured a $1.9 billion US government loan, and Constellation Energy agreed to pay $715 million for Shell’s stake in the Rhode Island State Energy Center, just days after its largest AI power deal was flagged as not generating revenue until June 2027. American Electric Power lifted its 2026 operating EPS forecast to $6.25-$6.55 and picked up a buy rating from TD Cowen. Institutional holdings were active: HSBC trimmed NiSource, Winton Group opened a new CenterPoint position, and Engineers Gate added Xcel Energy. Vistra stayed under pressure amid repeated insider sales and note offerings.

The Week Ahead

The macro calendar is busy. Tuesday (Sep 15) brings the New York Fed manufacturing index, with a prior reading of 20.6 and a forecast of 14.75. Wednesday (Sep 16) stacks up retail sales, retail sales ex-autos, import prices, the NAHB housing market index and weekly EIA crude inventories; headline retail sales carry a prior of -0.6 against a 0.9 forecast. For utilities, the main follow-through to watch is Constellation’s RISEC integration and any updates on the timing of AI power contracts, which could set the tone for nuclear and grid-linked names.

In Short

UTES.US lagged the market this week and traded below its 20-day line, even as the sector kept attracting AI-driven deal flow and selective institutional buying. The tension is between a still-developing AI power narrative and a price that has not confirmed it, with large-lot flows in the latest session leaning toward net selling. The immediate test is macro: retail and manufacturing data next week will gauge demand resilience, and rate-sensitive utilities could reprice on the outcome. The fund has not yet broken either way, so the focus stays on Constellation’s deal execution and whether the sector’s re-rating story translates into sustained price action.

This article is generated by LongbridgeAI from market data, for information only and not investment advice.