Key points
- Energy is today's clear winner. Energy stocks are up 2.2% and an oil fund is up 4.3%, extending the weekend's Iran and Strait of Hormuz move.
- Gold and silver are both down more than 2%, even with the weekend's geopolitical escalation. That is not the usual pattern.
- Software is up about 1%, defensive sectors (staples, utilities, healthcare, real estate) are up small, financials are roughly flat, and technology broadly, industrials, materials and consumer discretionary are lower.
- Bonds, Bitcoin and the VIX all point the same direction: real risk-off, but not a flight into the usual safe havens.
These figures are intraday, taken around 11:30am ET on July 13, 2026, roughly two hours into the trading session. They will move before the close, and this piece will not be updated after publishing.
Where the money is going
Energy stocks, tracked by the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE), are up 2.2% today, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) is up 4.3%, both extending the weekend's oil move tied to Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Software, tracked by the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV), is up about 1%. A handful of defensive sectors are up small: consumer staples (XLP) up 0.4%, communication services (XLC) up 0.4%, real estate (XLRE) up 0.3%, and utilities (XLU) and health care (XLV) both up 0.2%.
Where the money is leaving
Technology broadly, tracked by the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), is down 1.2%, weighed down by chip and memory names. Industrials (XLI) are down 0.6%, consumer discretionary (XLY) is down 0.5%, materials (XLB) are down 0.3%, and financials (XLF) are roughly flat. The Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) is down 1.1% and the Russell 2000 (IWM) is down 0.6%, both worse than the S&P 500 (SPY), down 0.4%.
The outlier: gold and silver are falling too
Gold, tracked by SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), is down 2.3% today, and silver, tracked by the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), is down 2.7%. That runs against the textbook pattern of gold catching a bid when the Middle East escalates, which is what happened over the weekend. It is not an isolated move either: Bitcoin is down 1.6%, and both Treasury bond funds we track, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) and the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF), are down 0.4% and 0.2%. None of the usual safe havens are catching a bid today.
What the fear gauge says
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 7.6% today, to 16.17. That confirms real risk-off sentiment in the tape, consistent with South Korea's Kospi crash and circuit breaker and the memory and chip stock selloff that followed it into US trading. What stands out is where that fear is not flowing today: gold, bonds and Bitcoin are all lower, not higher. Instead it is concentrated in energy buying and a rotation out of chips.
Sources
- Related coverage: Where the Magnificent Seven and small caps stood today
- Related coverage: Futures down, oil up just 3% after Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz
- Related coverage: Where the money moved July 1: out of chips, into software
- Price and sector ETF data via Yahoo Finance, intraday July 13, 2026
- Cover photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress (public domain)
This is general market commentary and opinion, not investment advice. These are intraday figures and can change significantly before the market closes. Markets can go down as well as up, and you can lose money. Always do your own research and consider speaking with a licensed financial professional before making any investment decision.
