ETF Scorecard: October 12 Edition

• The global stock markets are selling off, with analysts blaming rising Treasury yields and interest rates. President Donald Trump said the Federal Reserve was culpable for the sell-off, going as far as to call the Fed policymakers “crazy.” The ten-year Treasury yields have been rising incessantly since the beginning of the month, from 3.08% on October 1 to as much as 3.23% on October 5. Now, the yields have given up some ground and sport a yield of 3.18%.

• The U.S. unemployment rate dropped from 3.9% to 3.7% in September, hitting the lowest level since December 1969. However, non-farm payrolls rose just by 134,000, below expectations of 185,000. For the prior month, the number of payrolls was revised up to 270,000. Average hourly earnings increased 2.8% from the same period last year, in line with estimates.

• U.K. manufacturing production contracted by 0.2% in August versus growth of 0.1% expected by pundits, in a further deterioration of the picture. Year-over-year, production grew by 1.3%, above forecasts of 1.1%.

• As the sell-off in equity markets deepens as a result of rising rates, inflation is stagnating, giving the Fed reasons to be optimistic the rout is temporary. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1% in September compared to 0.2% expected. The CPI is up 2.3% year-over-year, down from 2.7% in August. Core inflation increased 2.2% in September.

• U.S. unemployment claims came in at 214,000 for the week ended October 6, 7,000 more than expected by analysts. Still, claims are hovering around historic lows.

• Crude oil inventories advanced for the third consecutive week in the U.S. After gaining 8 million barrels in the prior week, stockpiles advanced 6 million for the seven-day period ended October 5.

• Markets sold off this week.

• Risk assets (SPHB B+) posted the worst performance, tumbling more than 8%.

• Low volatility (SPLV A+) were the best performers, with a drop of 3.8%.

• The broad market (SPY A) lost as much as 6%.

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• Major indexes were all down.

• Technology equities (QQQ B+) suffered the most from the negative sentiment toward equities, declining a little over 7%.

• The European and Australasian equities (EFA A) fell just 4.55%, as the sell-off was an exogenous event. (EFA A) is also the best performer for the rolling month, down just 2.87%.

• Russell 2000, the small-cap index, (IWM A-) plunged nearly 10% for the rolling month, representing the worst performance.

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

• The telecom sector (XTL A) suffered the most pain, losing more than 8% for the past five days and nearly 10% for the rolling month. Given the sell-off, investors were put off by telecom companies’ high indebtedness and the upcoming capital expenditures for the 5G spectrum.

• Utilities (XLU A), acting as a safe haven, were the only gainers from the pack this week, up 0.51%.

• Thanks to gains registered in previous weeks, the energy sector (XLE A) is up slightly for the rolling month and is the best performer.

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

• Brazil (EWZ A-) is again the best performer this week as it was largely insulated from the global sell-off. Investors cheered the results of the presidential elections. Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro is poised to win the presidency, and the market appreciated his move to appoint a respected financier to develop his economic policy. Brazil is also the best performer for the rolling month, up as much as 20.49%.

• Germany (EWG B) is the worst performer this week, as the Eurozone is facing an internal crisis after Italy signaled it would not obey budget rules. (EWG B) dropped 4.92%.

• India (EPI C+) is the worst monthly performer with a drop of 13.45%.

• 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.

• Unsurprisingly, gold (GLD A-) was the best performer with a rise of 1.73%, as investors flew to safe-haven assets.

• Meanwhile, oil (USO B) dropped as much as 5% this week, due to faltering demand in the U.S. and rising inventory levels.

• For the rolling month, the Agricultural fund (DBA A) recorded the weakest performance, rising just 0.87%.

• Natural gas (UNG B-) remains the best performer for the past 30 days by far, up nearly 16%.

• The U.S. dollar (UUP A-) was the single faller this week, despite rising Treasury yields, which typically attract foreign investors to dollar-denominated assets.

• The Japanese yen (FXY C), meanwhile, benefited from its safe-haven status, surging 1.63% for the week. However, that was not enough to bring the yen’s monthly performance into positive territory. The yen is the only faller for the past 30 days, down 0.61%.

• Emerging market currencies (CEW A) are up 2.38% for the rolling month, partly bolstered by the strong performance of the Brazilian real.

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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.