ETF Scorecard: November 17 Edition

• Aside from the gathering of the world’s top central bankers in Europe, this week was rather dull in events.

• Developed world central bankers met this week in Europe at a conference organized by the European Central Bank. At a panel on Tuesday, central bank heads discussed ways to end the ten-year monetary stimulus in order to not hurt the markets. ECB President Mario Draghi praised forward guidance as an efficient tool, suggesting policymakers should continue to use it.

• U.K. manufacturing production edged up 0.7% in September, marking the third consecutive monthly increase. The manufacturing sector has been surprising investors on the upside over the past three months.

• U.K. inflation stood still at 3% in October, despite expectations that it will rise 3.1%. The less-than-expected inflation figures signal that the negative effects of the depreciating pound are wearing off.

• U.S. consumer sentiment dropped to 97.8 in November from over 100 in the previous month, below expectations of roughly 100.

• Chinese industrial production is cooling off, falling to 6.3% in October from as much as 6.6% in the previous month.

• U.S. consumer price index rose 0.1% in October, bringing year-to-date price gains to 2% and hitting the Federal Reserve target. Core CPI, meanwhile, came in at 1.8% for the year. The rise in inflation could be an early signal that U.S. policymakers will raise interest rates once again this year. Last time, the Fed strongly hinted that another hike this year was possible.

• U.S. retail sales advanced 0.2% in October, while the figure for the previous month was revised up to 1.9% from 1.6%. The upbeat data represents another sign of the strength of the American economy.

• Crude oil inventories have risen for the second consecutive week. Stockpiles were up 1.9 million barrels for the week ended November 10, slightly down compared to the prior week when the Energy Information Administration reported a buildup of 2.2 million.

• Unemployment claims came in at 249,000 for the week ended November 11, below consensus estimates of 236,000. In the prior week, 239,000 persons filed for unemployment insurance.

• S&P 500 (SPY A) marched higher this week, posting gains of 0.35%.

• The worst performer was High Beta (SPHB B+) with a rise of only 0.25%.

• Low volatility stocks (SPLV A+) were again the best performers, advancing 0.85%.

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• Global markets experienced low volatility.

• Technology stocks (QQQ B+) were again the best performers this week, climbing 0.77%. Amazon (AMZN) led the gains, rising more than 2%, as the holiday season approaches. Technology stocks were also the best performers for the rolling month, surging 3.86%.

• iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (EFA A), an ETF containing stocks from Europe, the Middle East and Australasia, was the only faller this week, dropping 0.12%.

• For the rolling month, however, the small cap index (IWM A-) posted the worst losses, down 1%, reversing some of the gains experienced in previous weeks on excitement about the Republicans’ tax plan.

• To see how these indices performed last week, check out ETF Scorecard: November 10 Edition.
   

• The telecom sector (XTL A) was the best performing for the week, after a string of losses. (XTL A) was up 2.80% in the past five days, but remains down nearly 3% for the rolling month – representing the worst performance.

• The energy sector (XLE A) was unsurprisingly the worst weekly performer, with an eye-catching loss of 4%. Oil prices have started to reverse some of the gains this week, after a top agency downwardly revised its forecast for demand next year.

• The technology sector (XLK A) is the best monthly performer with a gain of more than 5%.
   

• Foreign equities were almost all down.

• Brazil (EWZ A-) is the top weekly performer, although only with a small gain of just 0.51%. Brazilian stocks had been in oversold territory, and this week they reversed some of the losses. For the rolling month, however, Brazil remains the worst performer with a decline of 8.25%, as the country is facing uncertainty over the fate of reform-oriented President Michel Temer who is being investigated for corruption.

• After a strong last week, Russia (RSX B) disappointed over the past five days, in no small part due to falling oil prices. (RSX B) is down 3.22% this week, turning out to be the worst performer.

• Japan (EWJ A) is the best monthly performer with a gain of 2.63%.

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

• Commodities were mixed.

• Oil (USO B) and natural gas (UNG B-) have staged a competition over which commodity posts the worst gains. (UNG B-) fell the most – 3.81%, while oil (USO B) lost 3.57%, the second-worst performance. However, oil remains the best performer for the rolling month with a gain of 5.73%.

• Silver (SLV B-) was the only gainer this week, posting a tepid rise of 0.12%.

• Copper (JJC A) fell the most for the rolling month – 5.28%, hit by poor economic data from China, which is by far the world’s largest consumer.

• Use our Head-to-Head Comparison tool to compare two ETFs such as (USO B) and (UNG B-) on a variety of criteria such as performance, AUM, trading volume and expenses.
   

• The European shared currency (FXE B) posted the best gains this week, rising just short of 1%, as the Eurozone economy showed signs of improvement.

• The Australian dollar (FXA B) was the worst performer this week, declining 0.89%. The Aussie dollar is also the worst monthly performer with a decline of more than 3%, due to weak economic data of late, including on the wage-growth front.

• For the rolling month, the U.S. dollar (UUP A) is the best performer, although with a slight gain of just 0.37%.
   

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