ETFdb Logo
  • ETF Database
  • Channels
    • Themes
      • Active ETF
      • Alternatives Channel
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • China Insights
      • Climate Insights
      • Core Strategies
      • Crypto
      • Disruptive Technology
      • Energy Infrastructure
      • ETF Building Blocks
      • ETF Education
      • ETF Investing
      • ETF Strategist
      • Faith-Based Investing
      • Financial Literacy
      • Fixed Income
      • Free Cash Flow
      • Innovative ETFs
      • Invest Beyond Cash
      • Leveraged & Inverse
      • Modern Alpha
      • Portfolio Strategies
      • Tax Efficient Income
    • Asset Class
      • Equity
        • U.S. Equity
        • Int'l Developed
        • Emerging Market Equities
      • Alternatives
        • Gold/Silver/Critical Materials
        • Crypytocurrency
        • Currency
        • Volatility
      • Fixed Income
        • Investment Grade Corporates
        • US Treasuries & TIPS
        • High Yield Corporates
        • Int'l Fixed Income
    • ETF Ecosystem
    • ETFs in Canada
    • Market Outlook
    • Crypto ETF Hub
  • Tools
    • ETF Screener
    • ETF Country Exposure Tool
    • ETF Database Categories
    • Indexes
    • Scenario Analysis
    • Watchlists
    • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison Tool
    • Mutual Fund To ETF Converter
    • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
    • ETF Issuer Fund Flows
  • Research
    • ETF Education
    • Equity Investing
    • Dividend ETFs
    • Leveraged ETFs
    • Inverse ETFs
    • Index Education
    • Index Insights
    • Top ETF Sectors
    • Top ETF Issuers
    • Top ETF Industries
  • Webcasts
  • Themes
    • AI ETFs
    • Blockchain ETFs
    • See all Thematic Investing ETF themes
    • ESG Investing
    • Marijuana ETFs
  • Multimedia
    • ETF 360 Video Series
    • ETF of the Week Podcast
    • Gaining Perspective Podcast
    • ETF Prime Podcast
    • Video
  • Company
    • About VettaFi
    • Get VettaFi’ed
  • PRO
    • Pro Content
    • Pro Tools
    • Advanced
    • FAQ
    • Pricing
    • Free Sign Up
    • Login
  1. ETF Scorecard: August 31 Edition
News
Share

ETF Scorecard: August 31 Edition

Iuri StrutaAug 31, 2018
2018-08-31

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.

  • As Labor Day approaches and investors return from vacation, markets could not be in a more positive mood despite threats across the board.
  • U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to impose an additional round of tariffs on Chinese imports as soon as a public-comment period ends on September 6. Around $200 billion worth of Chinese goods will be subjected to U.S. levies, around four times more than the current figure of $50 billion. A final decision has not yet been made and tariffs could be implemented in installments.
  • Amid a trade war escalation, U.S. GDP grew by 4.2% in the second quarter, up from the previous estimate of 4%.
  • U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium that he backs a gradual normalization of monetary policy, despite some fearing that the Fed is moving too slowly. He made clear that the central bank would move decisively in a crisis.
  • Meanwhile, core durable goods orders rose 0.2% in July, while the figure for the prior month was revised down from growth of 0.5% to 0.2%. Analysts had expected a showing of 0.5%.
  • Sentiment among German businesses has improved consistently in August, with the German Institute for Economic Research’s business climate index rising to 103.8 in August from 101.7.
  • U.S. consumer confidence surged to 133.4 in August, well above expectations of 126.6.
    Crude oil inventories continued their decline in the week ended August 24. Stockpiles dropped by 2.6 million, above analysts’ expectations of 0.7 million.
  • U.S. unemployment claims rose by 3,000 in the week ended August 25 to 213,000, but are still hovering near record lows.

Risk Appetite Review

  • August is almost over and the stock market is hovering near record highs on the back of a strong U.S. economy.
  • Riskier assets (SPHB B+) were again favored by investors, edging up 1.66% in the five days through Thursday.
  • The broad market itself (SPY A) posted solid gains of 1.35%.
  • Low volatility (SPLV A+) is the worst performer in the category, up just 0.75% this week.
  • Sign up for ETFdb.com Pro and get access to real-time ratings on over 1,900 U.S.-listed ETFs.

Content continues below advertisement

Risk appetite image

Major Index Review

  • Major indexes were all up with one exception.
  • Technology stocks (QQQ B+) powered ahead this week, rising 2.76% thanks to a recovery posted by Netflix (NFLX) and other technology giants. The weekly gains propelled (QQQ B+) to record highs and the best performer status for the past 30 days, up more than 6%.
  • Emerging markets (EEM A-) is the only asset that recorded losses for the week, down 0.62%, amid chaos in Turkey and an intensification of the trade war between China and the U.S. Unsurprisingly, (EEM A-) is also the worst performer for the rolling month, down more than 3%.
  • To see how these indices performed a week before last, check out ETF Scorecard: August 24 Edition
Major indices image

Sectors Review

  • As expected, technology equities (XLK A) are the best performers among sectors, but only for the past five days.
  • With a gain of 8.61%, telecom equities (XTL A) posted the best performance for the rolling month.
  • Consumer staples (XLP A) continued to decline this week amid a tough environment stemmed from competition from Amazon and other online retailers. The only faller, (XLP A) dropped 0.55% this week.
  • For the rolling month, the energy sector (XLE A) is the worst performer with a decline of more than 3%.
  • Use our Head-to-Head Comparison tool to compare two ETFs such as (XLE A) and (XTL A) on a variety of criteria such as performance, AUM, trading volume and expenses.
Sectors review image

Foreign Equity Review

  • The performance picture in foreign markets is decidedly mixed.
  • Brazilian stocks (EWZ A-) fell 1.9% in the past five days, extending monthly losses to as much as 12.72%. The poor performance comes as the country is preparing for a presidential election, which is unlikely to be won by the market-friendly candidate.
  • Germany (EWG B), meanwhile, managed to gain 1.56% for the week, trimming monthly losses to 2.23%.
  • For the rolling month, the best performer and the only gainer is India (EPI C+), which posted a tepid rise of 0.38%.
  • 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.
Foreign equities image

Commodities Review

  • Commodities were mostly in the red.
  • Crude oil (USO B) was the best performer both for the week and the rolling month, up 1.72% and 2.57%, respectively, as U.S. stockpiles continue to decline.
  • Natural gas (UNG B-) fell 1.66% in the five days through Thursday.
  • For the rolling 30 days, silver (SLV B-) is the worst performer with a big decline of more than 6%.
Commodities review image

Currency Review

  • Currencies posted mixed results.
  • The British pound (FXB B) has gained 1.25% this week, starting to reverse losses posted in the previous weeks. Traders have become more optimistic about the prospect of a Brexit deal, after policymakers in Europe and Britain indicated that an agreement was likely.
  • The Japanese yen (FXY B) is the strongest performer for the rolling month with a rise of 0.71%.
  • Emerging markets currencies (CEW A+) are the worst performers both for the week and the rolling month, down 1.71% and 4.75%, respectively.
Currency review image

For more ETF analysis, make sure to sign up for our free ETF newsletter.

Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.

» Popular Pages

  • Tickers
  • Articles

Jun 17

ETF Prime: Islam Digs Into 2025 ETF Industry Hot Topics

Jun 17

The Biggest Bully in Town: The Bond Market!

Jun 17

2 Fundamental Benefits of Active Fixed Income ETFs

Jun 17

Public Equity May Resemble Private Equity More Than Investors Realize

Jun 17

Disruptive Theme of the Week: Uranium & Nuclear

Jun 17

Global X Rolls Out Investment-Grade Corporate Bond ETF

Jun 17

KEMQ Offers a Diversified Take on China Tech Exposure

Jun 17

Small-Caps Have Foundation for a Rally

Jun 17

Midstream and MLP Valuations Compelling vs. History

Jun 17

Volatile Macro Conditions Call for Long-Term Investing

VOO

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

QQQ

Invesco QQQ Trust Series I

GLD

SPDR Gold Shares

IBIT

iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF

SCHD

Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF...

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

IVV

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

USO

United States Oil Fund LP

SHLD

Global X Defense Tech ETF

VGT

Vanguard Information...


Content continues below advertisement

Loading Articles...
Our Sites
  • VettaFi
  • Advisor Perspectives
  • ETF Trends
Tools
  • ETF Screener
  • Mutual Fund to ETF Converter
  • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison
  • ETF Country Exposure Tool
  • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
  • ETF Database Pro
More Tools
  • Financial Advisor & RIA Center
Explore ETFs
  • ETF News
  • ETF Category Reports
  • Premium Articles
  • Alphabetical Listing of ETFs
  • Browse ETFs by ETF Database Category
  • Browse ETFs by Index
  • Browse ETFs by Issuer
  • Compare ETFs
Information
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
  • © 2025 VettaFi LLC. All rights reserved.

Advertisement

Is Your Portfolio Positioned With Enough Global Exposure?

ETF Education Channel

How to Allocate Commodities in Portfolios

Tom LydonApr 26, 2022
2022-04-26

A long-running debate in asset allocation circles is how much of a portfolio an investor should...

Core Strategies Channel

Why ETFs Experience Limit Up/Down Protections

Karrie GordonMay 13, 2022
2022-05-13

In a digital age where information moves in milliseconds and millions of participants can transact...

}
X