ETF Scorecard: April 28 Edition

• This week was full of events.

• France is on track to beat the populism wave, as polls indicate independent candidate Emmanuel Macron will defeat far-right anti-immigrant contender Marine Le Pen by a large margin. Last Sunday, Macron emerged as the winner of the French elections while and Le Pen took second place, in a stunning upset for the two main political parties. Macron and Le Pen will face off again in the second round on May 7.

• The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged at record lows and kept the €60 billion asset-purchase program in place. ECB President Mario Draghi struck a slightly more upbeat tone compared to the last session, saying risks are moving toward a more balanced configuration but are still tilted to the downside. Draghi noted inflation is yet to show a sustained upward trend. At 1.5%, inflation is still below the central bank’s target of 2%, although Draghi acknowledged the risk of deflation faded for the time being.

• Here at home, the Trump administration unveiled a bold tax-overhaul plan consisting of dramatic tax cuts. Under the yet-to-be-passed blueprint, the corporate tax would be cut to 15% compared to 35% now and the repatriation tax reduced to 10%. Capital gains tax would be lowered to 20% from 23.8% now. The plan is certain to meet opposition not only from Democrats but also from some Republicans who may be worried about a rising government deficit. The Tax Foundation said the plan would reduce revenues by $2 trillion over the next ten years and is unclear if economic growth could compensate for the lost income.

• U.S. existing home sales jumped 4.4% to 5.71 million in March, representing the best showing since May 2010. Year-over-year, existing home sales jumped 5.9%.

• U.S. Manufacturing PMI fell to 52.8 in April from 53.4 the previous month, disappointing analysts who on average expected an increase to 53.9. Services PMI also fell to 52.5 from 52.9.

• Consumer confidence came in lower than expected in April at 120.3 against estimates of 123.1. In the previous month, consumer confidence was firm at 125.6.

• Crude oil inventories have dropped for the third week in a row. For the April 21 week, stockpiles decreased by 3.6 million barrels.

• Germany’s business climate continued to improve in March, with IFO rising to 112.9 from 112.4 previously. The rate is the best since July 2011.

• The Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged at its recent meeting, but upwardly revised the forecast for GDP growth to 1.6% from 1.5% before.

• German flash manufacturing PMI fell slightly in April to 58.2 from 58.3 in March, while services PMI registered a more abrupt fall to 54.7 from 55.6.

• The broad market (SPY A) had the best returns this week, advancing 1.42%. The results of the French elections boosted optimism across the globe, as did the bold tax overhaul plan announced by the Trump administration.

• High Beta (SPHB B-) was the worst performer this week, rising only 0.78%.

• Check out our European Equities section to see a complete list of ETFs.

• Sign up for ETFdb.com Pro and get access to real-time ratings on over 1,900 U.S.-listed ETFs.

• Global equities have rallied again this week.

• iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (EFA A) jumped an impressive 3.13%, benefiting from gains staged by its European holdings as investors cheered the results of the French ballot.

• The S&P 500 (SPY A) was the worst performer, creeping up just 1.42%.

• For the rolling month, iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM B+) was the king with gains of 4.97%. The index has benefited from the return of the reflation trade and the Trump administration’s proposed tax plan.

• Emerging markets (EEM A-) was the worst monthly performer, just as last week, tepidly rising 0.83%.

• To see how these indices performed last week, check out ETF Scorecard: April 21 Edition.

• Foreign equities were all up this week.

• Satisfied with the fact that another populism wave in Europe had been choked off, investors piled into German equities (EWG B+). EWG was the best performer this week with an advance of 4.77%.

• Brazil (EWZ B+) again was the worst performer for the week, rising just 0.66%, as emerging markets were broadly shunned by investors.

• India (EPI B+) was the best performer for the rolling month, jumping 4.24%.

• China (FXI A-), meanwhile, disappointed for the rolling month, dropping 1.15%. The fall was largely due to a credit crackdown by the Chinese government, which resorted to the move in order to avoid another steep decline in equity prices similar to the one experienced in August 2015.

• To find out more about ETFs exposed to particular countries, check our ETF Country Exposure tool. Select a particular country from a world map and get a list of all ETFs tracking your pick.

• Commodities posted mixed performance.

• Copper (JJC A) was the best performer for the week, advancing 1.98%. The rebound was due to expectations of higher demand in the period ahead, particularly from China.

• Silver (SLV C+) declined 3.54% this week, as investors piled into equities and other riskier assets following the French elections. Silver is also the worst performer for the rolling month, down 4.83%.

• Oil (USO A) continued its downward trajectory this week, but crude is the best performer for the rolling month with a gain of 1.29%.

• Use our Head-to-Head Comparison tool to compare two ETFs such as (JJC A) and (SLV C+) on a variety of criteria such as performance, AUM, trading volume and expenses.

• Currencies posted mixed results.

• Unsurprisingly, the euro (FXE A) was the best performer this week, rising 1.61% as fears of a European Union collapse abated for a while. Polls indicate the pro-EU candidate, Macron, is poised for a landslide victory in the second round of French elections.

• The Japanese yen (FXY C+) reversed some of the gains this week on broad optimism in the global markets spurred by the outcome of the French ballot. (FXY C+) has fallen 1.86% since last Thursday.

• The British pound (FXB A-) has rallied the most for the rolling month, climbing up 2.79%.

• The Australian dollar (FXA A-) was the worst performer, declining 2.08%.

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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.