Key Momentum Shifts

  • Financials Remain Leading: Financials (XFJ) continue to occupy the Leading quadrant despite declining 0.59% during the session.
  • Consumer Staples Remain Leading: Consumer Staples (XSJ) remain positioned in Leading despite a marginal 0.16% decline.
  • Communication Services and Industrials in Leading: Communication Services (XTJ) and Industrials (XNJ) are positioned in Leading, although both recorded negative daily performances.
  • Consumer Discretionary and Property Remain Improving: Consumer Discretionary (XDJ) and Property (XPJ) continue to occupy the Improving quadrant.
  • Three Sectors Remain Weakening: Energy (XEJ), Utilities (XUJ) and Health Care (XHJ) remain positioned in Weakening.
  • Resources, Materials and Technology Remain Lagging: Resources (XJR), Materials (XMJ) and Information Technology (XIJ) continue to occupy the Lagging quadrant.
  • Materials and Resources Recovering: Both resource-related sectors remain in Lagging but their recent trajectories show movement toward the centre of the chart.
  • Technology Remains Deeply Lagging: Information Technology remains substantially within the Lagging quadrant, indicating continued relative weakness.

The latest Relative Rotation Graph for 18 September 2026 shows continued divergence across ASX sector momentum. Financials, Consumer Staples, Communication Services and Industrials occupy the Leading quadrant, while Consumer Discretionary and Property remain in Improving. Energy, Utilities and Health Care are positioned in Weakening, while Resources, Materials and Information Technology remain in Lagging. The chart also demonstrates that daily performance and broader relative momentum can diverge significantly.

Momentum Breakdown by Quadrant

ASX Sector Relative Momentum Chart (at the closing price of 18/09/2026). Powered by: amibroker.com.

Leading Quadrant

Financials (XFJ), Communication Services (XTJ), Industrials (XNJ) and Consumer Staples (XSJ) are positioned in the Leading quadrant. The chart shows these sectors above the horizontal midpoint and to the right of the vertical axis, indicating relatively stronger momentum and relative strength.

Financials remains the most prominent sector within this group. XFJ declined 0.59% on 18 September, but its position well inside the Leading quadrant indicates that its broader relative momentum remains stronger than most other sectors.

Consumer Staples also remains in Leading despite declining 0.16%. Its position demonstrates that the RRG reflects a broader momentum cycle rather than simply the latest daily return.

Communication Services and Industrials are also positioned in Leading. However, both sectors recorded negative daily performances of 0.77% and 1.04%, respectively. Their positions indicate that broader relative strength remains positive despite recent short-term weakness. Continued movement toward the upper-right area would indicate further strengthening, while movement back toward the centre could signal a loss of relative momentum.

Improving Quadrant

Consumer Discretionary (XDJ) and Property (XPJ) remain in the Improving quadrant.

Consumer Discretionary declined 0.54% on 18 September but remains in Improving. Its position indicates that relative momentum continues to recover despite the negative daily performance. Property declined 1.31%, yet also remains in Improving, demonstrating again that RRG positioning reflects a broader momentum cycle rather than a single trading session.

Both sectors are positioned to the upper-left of the chart, indicating that their relative momentum is improving while relative strength remains below the Leading area.

Continued upward and rightward movement would provide stronger evidence of improving relative momentum and could eventually support a transition into Leading.

Weakening Quadrant

Energy (XEJ), Utilities (XUJ) and Health Care (XHJ) remain in the Weakening quadrant.

Energy declined 1.10% on 18 September and is positioned below the horizontal midpoint. Its location indicates that the sector's broader relative momentum has weakened despite previously occupying the Leading quadrant.

Utilities declined 0.24% and remains in Weakening, while Health Care fell 0.36%. Health Care is positioned further into the lower-right portion of the chart, indicating a more pronounced weakening phase.

A sustained upward movement toward the centre of the chart would provide the first indication that relative momentum is beginning to recover for these sectors.

Lagging Quadrant

Resources (XJR), Materials (XMJ) and Information Technology (XIJ) remain in Lagging.

Materials gained 1.60% on 18 September, while Resources advanced 1.31%. Despite these strong daily performances, both sectors remain in the lower-left area of the RRG, demonstrating the distinction between short-term performance and broader relative momentum.

The trajectories of Materials and Resources, however, show movement upward from their recent lows. This suggests that their relative momentum may be beginning to recover, although both sectors remain firmly within Lagging.

Information Technology gained 0.72% but continues to occupy the deepest Lagging area among the sectors. Its position indicates that a sustained improvement in relative momentum would be required before a transition out of Lagging could be confirmed.

Bottom Line

The 18 September 2026 ASX Relative Rotation Graph shows continued divergence across sector momentum. Financials, Consumer Staples, Communication Services and Industrials remain in Leading, although several recorded negative daily performances. This highlights the difference between short-term price changes and broader relative momentum.

Consumer Discretionary and Property remain in Improving, indicating that their relative momentum continues to recover. Energy, Utilities and Health Care remain in Weakening, while Resources, Materials and Information Technology continue to occupy Lagging.

The most notable development is the strengthening daily performance of Materials and Resources despite their continued Lagging classifications. Their upward trajectories toward the centre of the RRG provide an early indication of improving relative momentum, although further movement would be required to confirm a quadrant transition.

Overall, the latest RRG highlights continued sector rotation across the ASX. Financials, Consumer Staples, Communication Services and Industrials remain in Leading, Consumer Discretionary and Property are Improving, Energy, Utilities and Health Care are Weakening, while Materials, Resources and Information Technology remain Lagging.