News
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.
- A Brexit deal has been reached but the mood in the U.K. does not seem celebratory. Although the Cabinet of Prime Minister Theresa May gave a green light to the agreement, it may have trouble passing through the Parliament. Under the accord, Britain will maintain close ties with the European Union until a different solution to the Irish border is found.
- As the drama around Brexit is getting intense, the U.K. economy is showing signs of improvement. For the three months ended September, GDP grew by 0.6% thanks to high consumer spending due to warm weather. However, the growth rate may not be sustainable and is likely to fall over the next quarters.
- Meanwhile, Germany’s economy switched to contraction mode. The GDP in Europe’s largest economy fell 0.2% in the September quarter, disappointing analysts who expected a drop of 0.1%. The Economy Ministry sounded an upbeat tone, saying Germany will reverse to growth over the next quarters as global trade disputes and problems in the auto industry dissipate.
- While GDP was on an upswing in the U.K., inflation is staying still. Consumer prices ion the island grew by 2.4% in October compared to the same period last year, unchanged compared to the prior month. Analysts had expected a rise to 2.5%.
- In the U.S., inflation increased to 2.5% in October, a solid advance compared to the 2.3% figure for the month prior. Core inflation was also above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2% at 2.1%.
- U.S. retail sales leapt as much as 0.8% in October, largely due to strong sales of gas and autos, after two months of slight drops.
- U.S. core retail sales, which exclude cars, rose 0.7%, the highest advance since June.
- Crude oil inventories have posted the biggest surge since February 2017. Oil stockpiles in the U.S. increased by 10.3 million barrels for the week ended November 9, against forecasts for growth of 2.9 million. In the prior week, stockpiles rose by 5.8 million barrels.
Risk Appetite Review
- After a few good weeks, markets resumed their declines.
- The broad market (SPY ) dropped as much as 2.15% this week, the second-worst performer after risky assets (SPHB ) that shed 2.85%.
- Meanwhile, low volatility stocks (SPLV ) were the least hit with a drop of 0.12%.
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Major Index Review
- Dow Jones (DIA ) was the only index that fell more than 3% this week. Still, gains recorded in the previous months were enough for (DIA ) to become the second-best monthly performer, with a loss of just 0.55%.
- Emerging markets (EEM ) were the only gainers both for the week and the rolling month, up 2.23% and 1.14%, respectively. The index was largely boosted by a recovering Chinese stock market, although global trade issues are still a concern.
- Technology stocks (QQQ ) are the worst performers for the rolling month, down 3.41%.
To see how these indices performed a week before last, check out ETF Scorecard: November 9 Edition.
Sectors Review
- The real estate sector (XLRE ) was surprisingly the best performer for the week and the rolling month. (XLRE ) declined 0.12% for the week but was up as much as 6.28% this month.
- The telecom sector (XTL ) tumbled 4.5% in the past five days through Thursday, erasing all gains for the rolling month.
- The energy sector (XLE ) lost 8.5% for the rolling month, in no small part due to rapidly declining oil prices.
Use our Head -to -Head comparison tool to compare two ETFs such as (XTL ) and (XLE ) on a variety of criteria such as performance, AUM, trading volume and expenses.
Foreign Equity Review
- Chinese stocks (FXI ) were by far the best performers for the week and the rolling month, advancing 3.23% and 4.08%, respectively. The country’s stocks rebounded, as trade war fears took a back seat.
- British stocks (EWU ) werare the worst performers, as investors fear the agreed Brexit deal will not muster with the Parliament. (EWU ) posted declines of 1.7% this week.
- For the rolling month, Japan (EWJ ) continues to be the worst performer, falling as much as 4.36%.
To find out more about ETFs exposed to particular countries, use 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 Review
- Commodities were all down with one exception.
- Oil’s bad streak continued into this week, with the black commodity (USO ) dropping 5.3% as the U.S. reported the biggest weekly buildup in inventories since February last year. (USO ) is the worst performer for the rolling month as well, with a decline of 20.61%.
- At the other end of the spectrum is natural gas (UNG ), which advanced 6.53% and 18.79% for the week and the rolling month, respectively, as inventories are hovering around a 15-year low. As the winter season approaches, demand is expected to increase further.
Currency Review
- The European shared currency (FXE ) declined 2.17% for the week, as inflation is cooling off and the economy is slowing down. The contraction in the German quarterly GDP boosted bets that the European Central Bank will keep its accommodative monetary policy for longer.
- The spot of the top performer for the week is shared by the Australian dollar (FXA ) and emerging market currencies (CEW ), both up 0.44%.
- The U.S. dollar (UUP ) is the best performer for the rolling month, leaping 2.74%.
- As expected, the British pound (FXB ) is the worst monthly performer, declining 3.34%.
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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
