Key Momentum Shifts

  • Financials Remain Leading: Financials (XFJ) continue to occupy the Leading quadrant despite gaining 1.42% during the session.
  • Consumer Staples Remain in Leading: Consumer Staples (XSJ) remain positioned in Leading, although the sector was almost unchanged at -0.03%.
  • Energy Remains in Leading: Energy (XEJ) continues to occupy Leading despite declining 1.10% on 17 September.
  • Three Sectors Remain Improving: Consumer Discretionary (XDJ), Property (XPJ) and Communication Services (XTJ) remain in Improving.
  • Industrials Remain Improving: Industrials (XNJ) continue to occupy Improving following a 0.57% daily gain.
  • Health Care and Utilities Remain Weakening: Health Care (XHJ) and Utilities (XUJ) remain positioned in the Weakening quadrant.
  • Resources, Materials and Technology Remain Lagging: Resources (XJR), Materials (XMJ) and Information Technology (XIJ) continue to occupy the Lagging quadrant.

The latest Relative Rotation Graph for 17 September 2026 shows continued divergence across ASX sectors. Financials, Consumer Staples and Energy occupy the Leading quadrant, while Consumer Discretionary, Property, Industrials and Communication Services remain in Improving. Utilities and Health Care are positioned in Weakening, while Resources, Materials and Information Technology remain in Lagging.

The chart shows that Financials remain the most prominent sector in the Leading quadrant, while Information Technology continues to sit deeply within Lagging. The latest configuration also highlights the distinction between short-term daily performance and broader relative momentum, as several sectors recorded positive daily returns while remaining in Weakening or Lagging.

Momentum Breakdown by Quadrant

ASX Sector Relative Momentum Chart (at the closing price of 17/09/2026). Powered by: amibroker.com.

Leading Quadrant

Financials (XFJ), Consumer Staples (XSJ) and Energy (XEJ) 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 gained 1.42% on 17 September, making it the strongest-performing sector of the day. Its position well inside the Leading quadrant indicates that its broader relative momentum remains stronger than most other sectors.

Consumer Staples remains in Leading despite recording a marginal 0.03% decline. This again demonstrates that the RRG reflects a broader momentum cycle rather than simply the latest daily return. The sector's position remains above the horizontal midpoint and to the right of the vertical axis.

Energy also remains in Leading, although it declined 1.10% during the session. Its position on the chart demonstrates that the sector's broader relative momentum remains comparatively strong despite the latest negative daily performance.

Continued movement upward and to the right would indicate further strengthening of the Leading positions, while movement back toward the centre of the chart could indicate a loss of relative momentum.

Improving Quadrant

Consumer Discretionary (XDJ), Property (XPJ), Industrials (XNJ) and Communication Services (XTJ) remain in the Improving quadrant.

Consumer Discretionary declined 0.15% on 17 September but remains in Improving. Its position indicates that relative momentum continues to recover despite the marginally negative daily return. Property advanced 0.65%, while Industrials gained 0.57%.

Communication Services was almost unchanged, declining 0.03%, and remains in Improving. Its position relatively close to the centre of the RRG suggests that further movement toward the upper-right area would strengthen its improving signal.

The positioning of these four sectors indicates that relative momentum is improving across several areas outside the current Leading group. Continued upward and rightward movement would provide further evidence of strengthening relative momentum and could eventually support a transition into Leading.

Weakening Quadrant

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

Health Care gained 0.98% on 17 September, representing the second-strongest daily sector performance. However, its position in the lower-right portion of the RRG indicates that the broader relative momentum remains in a weakening phase.

This contrast between daily performance and RRG positioning is important. A strong one-day gain does not necessarily result in an immediate improvement in the broader momentum classification. The chart shows Health Care moving within the Weakening quadrant rather than transitioning into Improving.

Utilities declined 0.23% and also remains in Weakening. Its position below the horizontal midpoint indicates relatively subdued momentum compared with sectors in Leading and Improving.

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.

Resources declined 0.62% on 17 September, while Materials fell 0.38%. Both sectors remain in the lower-left area of the RRG, indicating weak relative strength and momentum.

Information Technology also remains in Lagging after declining 0.98%. The sector is positioned substantially deeper in the Lagging quadrant than the other sectors, making it one of the clearest areas of relative weakness on the chart.

The current positioning demonstrates that negative daily performance is consistent with the broader momentum picture for these sectors. However, a sustained movement toward the centre of the chart would provide the first indication of improving relative momentum.

For Resources and Materials, a recovery toward the horizontal and vertical midpoints would be required before their positions could shift into Improving. Similarly, Information Technology would need a sustained improvement in relative momentum before a transition out of Lagging could be confirmed.

Bottom Line

The 17 September 2026 ASX Relative Rotation Graph shows continued divergence across sector momentum. Financials, Consumer Staples and Energy remain in Leading, with Financials standing out following its 1.42% daily gain. Consumer Staples and Energy remain in the same quadrant despite their marginally negative daily performances.

Consumer Discretionary, Property, Industrials and Communication Services continue to occupy Improving, indicating that their relative momentum remains in a recovery phase. Health Care and Utilities remain in Weakening, despite Health Care recording a relatively strong 0.98% daily gain.

Resources, Materials and Information Technology remain in Lagging. Information Technology continues to occupy the weakest area of the RRG, while Resources and Materials remain positioned in the lower-left quadrant.

Overall, the latest RRG highlights a continued rotation in ASX sector momentum. Financials remain the most prominent sector within Leading, while Consumer Discretionary, Property, Industrials and Communication Services remain positioned in Improving. Continued movement toward Leading would provide stronger confirmation of improvement, while sustained recovery in Resources, Materials, Health Care and Information Technology would be needed for a broader strengthening of ASX sector momentum.