Natural Gas vs the S&P 500 (FCG): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, FCG has underperformed the S&P 500 by 4.8 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where FCG sits on the rotation map
Natural Gas highlighted against the 11 broad S&P 500 sectors. Vertical: 1-month spread vs the S&P 500. Horizontal: the longer, time-shifted window — the methodology explains the math.
FCG vs SPY: head-to-head returns
FCG (natural gas) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means FCG won that window.
Data as of 2026-07-13 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Natural Gas (FCG) is out of favor: it trails the S&P 500 on both rotation windows — 4.8 points behind over the past month and 12.0 points behind over the longer, time-shifted window. That is the lagging quadrant. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #79 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, FCG's momentum reads strong: the recent hourly trend is positive across every lookback Zensei measures. FCG's relative-strength line has broken below its long-term average — the long-term outperformance trend is no longer intact. That tension — a firm short-term tape against a damaged longer trend — is usually resolved within a few weeks, one way or the other.
The exposure comes via First Trust Natural Gas ETF, whose 43 tracked holdings are led by WESTERN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS LP, HESS MIDSTREAM LP CLASS A and EOG RESOURCES INC. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 34.0× earnings and 6.3× sales. The thing to watch from here is the one-month spread: laggards only become interesting when the recent window turns positive first — until then, the market is voting elsewhere.
What's inside FCG
Top 5 of 43 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Natural Gas vs the market — common questions
Is natural gas outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, no: over the past month FCG has underperformed the S&P 500 by 4.8 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is FCG?
FCG is First Trust Natural Gas ETF, the fund Zensei uses to measure the natural gas group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in FCG?
FCG's largest tracked positions are WESTERN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS LP, HESS MIDSTREAM LP CLASS A, EOG RESOURCES INC, CONOCOPHILLIPS, DIAMONDBACK ENERGY INC — 43 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is part of Zensei Premium.
What quadrant is natural gas in right now?
As of the latest daily data, natural gas is in the lagging quadrant — trailing the S&P 500 on both windows. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track natural gas against the whole market
Zensei Edge maps 100+ sectors and themes against the S&P 500 — with the stocks inside each one, rotation history and alerts when leadership changes hands.