Financials have the market's deepest bench of near-breakouts

Artificial intelligence stocks have been dominating market attention this year, but a growing number of financial stocks are approaching breakout territory in recent periods. CNBC screened the S & P 500 for stocks trading close to 52-week highs that have not made new highs recently. Financials stood out with roughly a quarter of the sector — 20 of 76 — within 10% of their highs while not hitting fresh highs in at least 100 days as of the close Tuesday. This group includes large banks like JPMorgan Chase , Fifth Third , US Bancorp , Citizens Financials and Bank of America . A number off insurers too appear on the list, including Chubb , Travelers , Hartford Insurance and Cincinnati Financial . The setup is notable partly because financials have largely been overshadowed by AI-linked technology stocks this year, even as many financials have quietly posted strong returns. In fact, the Invesco KBW Bank ETF (KBWB) is up more than 8% in June, outperforming the hot semiconductor group. In a sign the group could be forming a breakout, the KBWB hit an all-time high Wednesday, back to its inception in 2011. JPMorgan and Bank of America too climbed to their first intraday record highs since early January. The moves come as investors continue to reassess the outlook for economic growth and interest rates, ahead of Kevin Warsh's first meeting as chair of the Federal Reserve. The recent strength in financials also reflects improving capital markets activity. …