Despite a very strong economy, defensive stocks have been matching the performance of the overall stock market since early this year. Indeed, in the last three months, while the S&P 500 has returned to a new record high, the top four leading S&P 500 sectors have been those normally considered defensive (i.e., Health Care, Telecom, Utilities, and Consumer Staples), and the five sectors which have trailed the S&P 500 are much more cyclical (Consumer Discretionary, Technology, Financials, Materials, and Energy).