ETF Scorecard: December 22 Edition

• The final week before Christmas was, unsurprisingly, rather dull in events, with only Bank of Japan announcing its monetary policy decision.

• In a widely expected move, BoJ kept its monetary policy on hold, saying it anticipated the economy to continue its moderate expansion. Overnight interest rates remained at minus 0.1%, while the bond-yield target of Japanese government bonds stood still at zero percent.

• Eurozone’s final CPI figures failed to deliver a surprise, with inflation remaining at the same level of 1.5% in November year-over-year. Core CPI also stood at the same level of 0.9%, well-below Europe’s central bank target of 2%.

• U.S. housing starts were strong in November, extending the winning streak started in October. Starts advanced 3.3% in November, to an annualized figure of 1.29 million.

• U.S. existing home sales were also strong, rising 5.6% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year to 5.8 million in November. The figure is higher than consensus estimates of 5.5 million.

• Crude oil inventories registered an abrupt drop for the week ended December 15, falling by 6.5 million barrels. This is the fifth decline in a row. Gasoline stocks, meanwhile, marched higher during the same week to 1.2 million barrels.

• Final U.S. GDP for the third-quarter slightly disappointed. Real output growth stood at 3.2%, compared to 3.3% previously, with the growth driver being non-residential fixed investments, which spiked 4.7%.

• U.S. jobless claims rose to 245,000 for the week ended December 16, above consensus estimates of 232,000. Claims advanced 225,000 in the prior week.

• Low volatility (SPLV A+) was slammed this week, dropping 1%, as investors flocked to riskier assets.

• High Beta (SPHB B+), meanwhile, posted the best performance this week, advancing more than 2%.

• The broad market (SPY A) itself had a good week, rising 0.80% in the past five days.

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• The small-cap index (IWM A-) was on a tear this week, rising 1.60% largely thanks to the tax-cut plan passed by the U.S. Republicans.

• Emerging markets (EEM A-) posted the worst performance both for the week and the rolling month, dropping 0.11% and 3.19%, respectively, with China and Russia contributing the most to the poor monthly performance.

• The Dow Jones (DIA B+) was the clear winner for the rolling month, surging 5.31%.

• To see how these indices performed last week, check out ETF Scorecard: December 15 Edition.
   

• The energy sector (XLE A) had a strong week, rising 3.68% in the past five days, as stabilizing oil prices boosted the stocks of U.S. producers.

• For the rolling month, however, the financial sector (XLF A) posted the best gains, up 6.67%, as the industry is expected to benefit handsomely from the tax cuts approved by U.S. Republicans.

• Utilities (XLU A) were beaten both for the week and the rolling month, as investors embraced riskier assets. (XLU A) is down 4.8% for the week and 6.1% for the rolling month.
   

• Brazil equities (EWZ A-) had the best week from the pack on news that Boeing is mulling to buy domestic plane-maker Embraer. (EWZ A-) is up 1.70% since last Thursday, representing the best performance.

• For the rolling month, India (EPI C+) is the best performer with an advance of 2.49%.

• Russia (RSX B) is the worst performer both for the week and the rolling month, with a drop of 5.49% and 5.58%, respectively.

• 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 had a good week, with the exception of natural gas.

• Copper (JJC A) was again the best weekly performer with an advance of 3.87%, buoyed by a tax-overhaul plan passed in the House by U.S. Republicans. Copper is used extensively in manufacturing and construction, and a tax cut for these industries is expected to increase demand for the metal.

• Oil (USO B) is the best performer for the rolling month, up more than 3%.

• Natural gas (UNG B-), meanwhile, is the worst performer both for the week and the rolling month, tumbling 3.75% and 17.76%, respectively. The fall was due to big production increases in the U.S. and warm weather expected across the southern part of the U.S.

• 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 Japanese yen (FXY C) was the worst performer this week, reflecting an increase in global risk appetite. The yen is also the worst performer for the rolling month.

• The Euro (FXE A) posted strong gains this week, surging 0.77%, although that performance did not help the currency much for the rolling month.

• The Australian dollar (FXA B+) is the king this month with gains of 1.58%.
   

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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.