Markets trended higher in the holiday shortened week, as the S&P 500 flirted with and then crossed the 1,100 mark. The dollar strengthened throughout the week as debt clouds continue to hang over the euro zone and after the Fed raised the discount rate to 75 basis points. Below, we offer our picks for the week’s most important and interesting ETF stories from around the Web:
China: Best Play Of The Year? at Index Universe:
With Chinese markets closed in celebration of the start of the Year of the Tiger, many are wondering if China will be able to remain a center of growth for the global economy once the holiday season ends. While there are a plethora of China ETFs available to investors, this article details two of the most popular, the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund (FXI), which follows some of the largest corporations in mainland China, and the iShares MSCI Hong Kong Index Fund (EWH). which many see as a more diversified proxy for the Chinese market.
Four Little Known Secrets Of Ultra-Popular ETFs at ETF Database:
Although investors have become more educated about the risks and rewards of certain ETFs, many misconceptions still remain regarding some of the most popular funds. This is no more apparent than in the very popular country-specific ETF space, where mega cap firms dominate holdings, skewing returns to transnational corporations instead of the actual market in a specific country. Another little known fact is that emerging markets ETFs tend to have substantial holdings in quasi-developed markets such as South Korea and Taiwan, which have moved out of emerging market status more than ten years ago.
Which Commodity ETPs Have Momentum? at Hard Asset Investor:
This article focuses on technical analysis in order to show investors which narrowly focused commodity ETFs are trading above and below their 10 month moving average. Among the highest above moving averages are the iPath ETNs tracking sugar (SGG) and copper (JJC), which are both more than 12% higher than their respective averages. Meanwhile, on the downside, the iPath Grains ETN (JJG) and the U.S. Natural Gas ETF (UNG) were among the lowest below their moving averages, down 5.1% and 13.4%, respectively.
Indonesia ETF, Up 146%, Gets Top Rating at TheStreet.com:
The Market Vectors Indonesia ETF (IDX) has soared 146% over the past year, earning itself an A+ rating from TheStreet.com. TheStreet.com initiated coverage on 10 other ETFs with five others earning a ‘buy’ rating, two at ‘hold’ and three at ‘sell’. Some of the other funds rated ‘buy’ include the Direxion Mid Cap Bull 3x Shares (MWJ) and Claymore/NYSE Arca Airlines ETF (FAA). At the low end of the newly rated funds were both of the volatility funds as well as the Direxion Mid Cap Bear 3x Shares (MWN).
Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
ETF Database is not an investment advisor, and any content published by ETF Database does not constitute individual investment advice. The opinions offered herein are not personalized recommendations to buy, sell or hold securities. From time to time, issuers of exchange-traded products mentioned herein may place paid advertisements with ETF Database. All content on ETF Database is produced independently of any advertising relationships. Read the full disclaimer here.
Are you enjoying ETF Database?
Get more articles like this one via our free daily e-mail newsletter or RSS feed.
Make your voice heard: comment on news stories, analysis, and ETF message boards.
Comments on this entry are closed.