Health care ETF’s ‘bearish engulfing’ chart pattern warns of an end to the recent uptrend

The intraday U-turn in the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF














ETF, +0.00%












has produced a “bearish engulfing” reversal chart pattern, which many technicians would say warns that the 2-month uptrend in the sector has ended. The ETF (XLV) opened $93.28, above the Friday’s close of $92.95, then rose to a 3-month high of $93.45 in intraday trade before reversing course to close at $91.69, or below Friday’s open of $92.22. Candlestick-chart followers believe this pattern suggests that after bears took the bulls’ best shot, they launched a successful counterattack that have left bulls retreating. The XLV’s decliners Monday were led by shares of managed care companies WellCare Health Plans Inc.














WCG, -6.08%












Anthem Inc.














ANTM, -4.90%












and Humana Inc.














HUM, -4.59%












Among some downside levels to watch are the 200-day moving average, which currently extends to $89.23, and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the rally off the Dec. 24 closing low to Friday’s high, which comes in at $85.38. The XLV has gained 6.0% year to date while the S&P 500














SPX, -0.39%












has run up 13.0%.

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