ETF Scorecard: January 12 Edition

• The most important data this week was released last Friday.

• The U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in December, disappointing analysts, who had expected 191,000. To investors’ luck, the figure from the prior month was revised up by 24,000 to 252,000.

• The U.S. unemployment rate, meanwhile, stood flat at 4.1%, while average hourly earnings rose 0.3% month-over-month and 2.5% year-over-year. Both figures were broadly in line with estimates.

• The U.S. non-manufacturing index dropped a few points to 55.9, against 57.4 in the previous month. Analysts had expected a modest rise in sentiment to 57.6.

• Eurozone inflation stood still at 1.4% in December, ending the year well below the ECB target of 2%. Core inflation, meanwhile, disappointed analysts, coming in at 0.9% compared to forecasts of 1%.

• Crude oil reserves dropped by 4.9 million barrels in the week ended January 5, marking the eighth consecutive decrease. At the same time, gasoline stocks rose 4.1 million barrels.

• U.S. unemployment claims came in at 261,000 for the week ended January 6, below consensus forecasts of 245,000. In the prior week, claims stood at 250,000.

• U.S. Producer Price Index fell 0.1% in December compared to a rise of 0.4% in the prior week. Year-over-year, PPI stands at a healthy level of 2.6%. Core PPI fell by a similar amount month-over-month and was up 2.3% compared to the same period last year.

• The markets continued their rally this week.

• The S&P 500 (SPY A) advanced 1.32% in the past five days, representing the second-best performance from the pack.

• High Beta (SPHB B-) was the best performer for the second consecutive week, with a rise of 2.38%.

• Low Volatility (SPLV A+) reversed some of the losses registered in the previous week and was up 0.10%.

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• Global markets were all up.

• Russell 2000 (IWM A-) was the best performer, advancing 1.69% in the past five days on optimism about the new tax plan in the U.S.

• Emerging markets (EEM A-) rose the least, just by 0.45%, as many countries were in sell-off mode due to rising bond yields across the board. China was the only emerging market that bucked the trend. (EEM A-), however, was the best monthly performer with a staggering advance of 7.22%, thanks to rising commodity prices.

• The S&P 500 (SPY A) was the worst monthly performer, posting gains of 3.50%.

To see how these indices performed a week before last, check out the ETF Scorecard: January 5 Edition.

• In a rare feat, industrial shares (XLI A) were the best performers for the week with an advance of 2.54%, helped by positive news from Delta Air Lines (DAL), which boosted earnings guidance thanks to the new tax law.

• The real estate sector (XLRE B+), meanwhile, was the worst weekly performer with a drop of 2.63%.

• Energy stocks (XLE A) were up as much as 10.2% for the rolling month, representing the best performance from the pack.

• Utilities (XLU A) disappointed again this week, as investors shunned the sector due to a rising risk appetite. (XLU A) is down 9.7% for the rolling month.

• Foreign equities were all up with the exception of Germany.

• Buoyed by strong oil prices, Russia (RSX B) advanced 2.80% this week, beating its counterparts.

• Germany (EWG B) was the only faller from the pack – down 0.50% due to a rising euro and a hawkish European Central Bank. (EWG B) is also the worst monthly performer, rising only 3.30%.

• Brazil (EWZ A-) is the best performer for the rolling month, with an impressive advance of 12.24%.

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 performances.

• Natural gas (UNG B-) was by far the best performer this week, surging nearly 11% thanks to rising demand for heating fuel as the U.S. experienced record-low temperatures last week.

• Agricultural commodities (DBA A) suffered a decline of 1.5% this week, representing the worst performance. As a result of the fall, (DBA A) was also the worst monthly performer with a rise of 1.9%.

• Up 9.11%, oil (USO B) beat all its commodity peers by a few basis points on a monthly basis.

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

• The Japanese yen (FXY C) surged 1.82% this week, as Bank of Japan decided to trim its asset purchase program.

• The British pound (FXB B) posted the worst performance from the pack, dropping 0.15% for the week.

• The Australian dollar (FXA B+) remains the best monthly performer – up 4.34%, while the U.S. dollar’s (UUP B) drop of 2.16% was the worst.

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