News
To help investors keep up with the markets, we present our ETF Scorecard. The Scorecard takes a step back and looks at how various asset classes across the globe are performing. The weekly performance is from last Friday’s open to this week’s Thursday close.
- US markets had positive returns this week.
- Most major foreign markets, including developed and emerging markets, are up for the week; Brazil is the only major foreign market that’s down.
- Concerns were voiced over the global economic growth during the G7 meetings. These worries included weak growth; similarities to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in 2008; British exit from the European Union; and global tensions, with mentions of North Korea, Russia, and the South China Sea issue.
- Preliminary q/q GDP figure reported this morning showed a reading of 0.8%. This is in line with expectations.
- Crude oil inventories are depleting in the United States: a decrease of 4.2M was reported on Wednesday, compared to analyst estimates of a 1.7M decrease. This is, of course, a bullish sign for oil prices.
- Orders for core durable goods are in line with expectations and are up 0.4%, as reported on Thursday.
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Risk Appetite Review
- The overall market as measured by the S&P 500 ETF (SPY ) is up 2.16% for the week.
- The low volatility ETF (SPLV ) is up the least this week, with only a 0.90% increase in value.
- The high-beta ETF (SPHB ) is up the most, with a 3.08% increase this week.
Major Index Review
- All major indexes have performed well this week.
- Russell 2000 ETF (IWM ) had a 3.82% increase this week, outperforming all the other ETFs in the list.
- The worst performer this week from the list below is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA ), which still had a decent 1.92% return.
- For the rolling month, emerging markets (EEM ) were a huge outlier in terms of poor performance: the ETF is down 4.31%. This poor performance is mainly due to weakness seen in Brazil and China this month.
Foreign Equity Review
- All major foreign tracking ETFs are up for the week except the Brazil ETF (EWZ ), which is down 2.08%.
- Brazil (EWZ ) is by far the worst performing foreign equity market for the week and rolling month. Despite Michel Temer’s (interim president) attempt to restore confidence in Brazil’s economy, equity markets are struggling due to scandals and reforms in the government.
- India (EPI ) is the best performer this week out of the list below, with a 3.65% increase.
- The United Kingdom (EWU ) is the only major foreign equity market that’s up for the rolling month.
Commodities Review
- There have been mixed results for commodities this week.
- Copper (JJC ) is up the most this week at 1.39%. However, the commodity is down 7.18% for the rolling month.
- Natural gas (UNG ) continues its decline and is the worst performing major commodity this week, with the ETF down 3.28%.
- Oil (USO ) is seeing a great uptrend: it is the best performer this week, and the commodity is up 12.10% for the rolling month.
Currency Review
- The US dollar (UUP ) is flat this week, but is up 0.94% for the rolling month. Investors are anticipating a rate hike in June, which helped push the dollar higher.
- The euro (FXE ) is down the most this week, with the ETF declining 0.44%.
- The British pound (FXB ) is up the most for the week; a Brexit seems less likely now than it did just a few weeks ago.
- The Japanese yen (FXB ) is the best performing major currency for the rolling month, with the ETF up 1.07%.
- Australia (FXA ) saw its currency devalue the most for the rolling month, down 6.91%. The major reasons for this are that the Reserve Bank of Australia cut its cash rate by 25 basis points to 1.75% earlier this month, while US rates are expected to increase in June. At the same time, inflation figures continue to disappoint in Australia.
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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
