Closelook rankings · Theme Flow

The strongest investment themes, ranked

Every theme (via its ETF) we cover, ranked by tonight's Directional Flow trend score — the steadiest, strongest price trends first.

Every night, our Directional Flow engine gives each theme (via its ETF) a trend score. The higher the score, the steadier and stronger the price trend. This page ranks every theme (via its ETF) we cover, strongest first — so the weak end of the table is always visible too.

Scan of 2026-08-17 · 14 themes covered · Directional Flow is Closelook's own trend engine — what the score measures · the stock ranking runs on the same nightly scan.

How the top scores got here

The Directional Flow score of today's top 5, over the last 90 trading days. Same math as the DF oscillator on every chart.

SMHXBICIBRAIQROBO
#ThemeScoreScore pathScore5d21d63dTrend right now
1 Semiconductors SMH 84 84 -1.3 -7.2 +16.0 rising, but slowing
2 Biotech XBI 45 45 +0.2 -1.4 -6.0 flat
3 Cybersecurity CIBR 41 41 +4.8 +17.3 +58.3 getting stronger
4 AI Broad AIQ 37 37 +0.7 -1.0 +17.3 flat
5 Robotics ROBO 30 30 -0.3 -4.9 -2.3 rising, but slowing
6 Quality factor QUAL 18 18 +0.8 +2.0 +6.3 getting stronger
7 Cloud Computing CLOU 18 18 +5.8 +17.4 +42.2 getting stronger
8 Dividend Growth VIG 16 16 +0.7 +2.2 +5.1 getting stronger
9 Russell 1000 Growth IWF 9 9 +0.8 +0.5 +5.6 flat
10 Vanguard Growth VUG 6 6 +6.7 +10.2 +0.0 getting stronger
11 EVs / Autonomous KARS 2 2 -2.1 -14.3 -37.0 rising, but slowing
12 Disruptive Innovation ARKK -4 -4 +2.1 +1.8 +8.1 flat
13 ARK Next Internet ARKW -5 -5 +3.2 +8.3 +25.1 turning up
14 Software IGV -12 -12 +4.9 +14.5 +36.2 turning up

Score = trend quality; higher is steadier and stronger. The 5d / 21d / 63d columns show how much the score changed over about one week, one month and one quarter. The full list is shown — both the strong and the weak end.

Go deeper

  • Click any row for its full page — chart, performance and signals in one place.
  • The Directional Flow stock ranking runs the same engine over single stocks — the strongest individual trends in our coverage.
  • The daily archive keeps every night's full theme flow ranking — how it looked on any past day.
  • The Directional Flow signals page reads the same daily scan the other way round — heat columns, early warnings and what the whole tape is doing.
  • Factor Regime shows whether the market is currently rewarding strong trends at all.

FAQ

What is the Directional Flow score?

A number we compute every night. It measures how steady and reliable a price trend is — most scores sit below 100, and only exceptional trends go far above it. A high score means prices have been moving in one clear direction, in an orderly way. It grades the quality of a move, not just its size.

How can a theme have a trend score?

We measure the score on the US-listed ETF that tracks it. That means the score reflects what a US-dollar investor actually experiences — for foreign markets, that includes the currency move as well as the local market.

How often is this ranking updated?

Our engine runs after every US market close. This page is rebuilt every morning with the fresh ranking, and it always shows the date of the scan it was built from.

Is this investment advice?

No. Closelook publishes an investment research diary, not investment advice. The ranking describes what our engine measures in past prices. Past performance may not be an indication of future performance.

Closelook publishes an investment research diary, not investment advice. Past performance may not be an indication of future performance.