Short-Term Bonds vs the S&P 500 (NEAR): is it outperforming?
As of 12 October 2026, Short-Term Bonds (NEAR) is trailing the S&P 500, over the past month and over the longer run. NEAR trails the S&P 500 by 2.0 points over one month and ranks #34 of 115 groups Zensei tracks.
Where short-term bonds stands now
As of 12 October 2026, Short-Term Bonds (NEAR) ranks #34 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks by one-month return against the S&P 500. It is out of favor: it trails the S&P 500 on both rotation windows — 2.0 points behind over the past month and 2.0 points behind over the longer, time-shifted window. That is the Underperformers quadrant.
On the shorter tape, NEAR's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. NEAR'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 thing to watch from here is the one-month spread: underperformers only become interesting when the recent window turns positive first — until then, the market is voting elsewhere.
NEAR vs SPY: head-to-head returns
Over the week to 12 October 2026, NEAR rose 0.3% while the S&P 500 rose 0.4%. NEAR and SPY (the S&P 500) over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference: positive means NEAR won that window.
Prices as of · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
Short-Term Bonds on the rotation map, against the 11 broad S&P 500 sectors. Vertical: 1-month spread vs the S&P 500. Horizontal: the longer, time-shifted window.
Short-Term Bonds vs the market — common questions
Is short-term bonds outperforming the S&P 500?
No. As of 12 October 2026, NEAR trails the S&P 500 by 2.0 points over the past month.
Is it a good time to invest in short-term bonds?
Zensei does not give investment advice, but it measures the trend. As of 12 October 2026, short-term bonds is behind the S&P 500 on both the recent and the longer window. The rotation map and the read on this page show whether that trend is building or fading.
What is NEAR?
NEAR is iShares Short Duration Bond ETF. Zensei uses it to measure short-term bonds against the S&P 500 (SPY).
What quadrant is short-term bonds in right now?
As of 12 October 2026, short-term bonds is in the Underperformers quadrant — trailing the S&P 500 on both windows. The Zensei methodology page explains the quadrants.
Recent changes
- ·First tracked: trailing the market
Related sectors
Track short-term bonds 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.