Nuclear Energy vs the S&P 500 (NLR): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, NLR has underperformed the S&P 500 by 11.4 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where NLR sits on the rotation map
Nuclear Energy 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.
NLR vs SPY: head-to-head returns
NLR (nuclear energy) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means NLR won that window.
Data as of 2026-07-13 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Nuclear Energy (NLR) is out of favor: it trails the S&P 500 on both rotation windows — 11.4 points behind over the past month and 20.4 points behind over the longer, time-shifted window. That is the lagging quadrant. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #104 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks — among the market's weakest pockets right now.
On the shorter tape, NLR's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. NLR's relative-strength line has broken below its long-term average — the long-term outperformance trend is no longer intact. Both signals point the same direction here: the market is not rewarding this group on either horizon.
The exposure comes via VanEck Uranium+Nuclear Energy ETF, whose 13 tracked holdings are led by CONSTELLATION ENERGY CORP, PUBLIC SERVICE ENTERPRISE GROUP INC and BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 34.5× earnings and 52.3× 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 NLR
Top 5 of 13 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Nuclear Energy vs the market — common questions
Is nuclear energy outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, no: over the past month NLR has underperformed the S&P 500 by 11.4 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is NLR?
NLR is VanEck Uranium+Nuclear Energy ETF, the fund Zensei uses to measure the nuclear energy group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in NLR?
NLR's largest tracked positions are CONSTELLATION ENERGY CORP, PUBLIC SERVICE ENTERPRISE GROUP INC, BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC, CENTRUS ENERGY CORP CLASS A, OKLO INC CLASS A SHARES — 13 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is part of Zensei Premium.
What quadrant is nuclear energy in right now?
As of the latest daily data, nuclear energy 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 nuclear energy 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.