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.
This week was marked by the leadership coup in Zimbabwe, which appears to be peaceful. Long-time President Robert Mugabe agreed to step down after his own party, the military and ordinary people rose up against him. U.S. housing starts impressed in October, easily beating expectations. Housing starts rose by 13.9% to 1.29 million compared to just 1.19 million forecasted by pundits. Adding to the bright picture, starts for September were revised up from 1.12 million to 1.13 million. Federal Reserve minutes revealed that policymakers have started to worry about a rising stock market, signaling that interest rates may be increased at a quicker pace. As of now, the Fed is expected to raise interest rates in December. The U.S. central bank struck an optimistic tone about the economy, pleased that the labor market, consumer spending and manufacturing all showed solid performances. New durable goods orders fell 1.2% month-over-month, but rose 1% compared to the same period last year. Economists had expected the monthly figure to jump 0.4%. Core orders, meanwhile, were up 0.4%, falling short of estimates of 0.5%. Jobless claims of 239,000 were roughly in line with estimates for the week ended November 18 and were lower by 13,000 compared to the previous week. Crude oil inventories dropped by 1.9 million barrels in the November 17 week, after they advanced by a similar amount a week before. A swathe of European manufacturing indexes indicated rising activity in the sector. The Eurozone’s flash manufacturing PMI rose to 60 in November from 58.3 in the previous month, reaching record levels. A similar European services PMI index surged to 56.2 in October from 55.3, nearing a new record.
Risk Appetite Review
The S&P 500 (SPY A) continued its winning streak this week, rising 0.60%. The recent rally has worried Federal Reserve policymakers, in a sign another rate hike could be imminent. High Beta (SPHB B-) was the best performer this week, as investors embraced riskier assets. (SPHB B-) is up 1.12%. After a string of good weeks, Low Volatility (SPLV A) is the worst performer, posting flat gains over the past week. Sign up for ETFdb.com Pro and get access to real-time ratings on over 1,900 U.S.-listed ETFs.
Major Index Review
Global markets were on a tear. Small-cap stocks (IWM B+) posted the best results this week, surging 2.47%, despite the fact that the Republicans’ tax plan was negatively reviewed across the board. Technology stocks (QQQ A-) remain the best monthly performers, with a rise of 5.20% over the past 30 days. The Dow Jones (DIA A-) and the S&P 500 (SPY A) shared the position of worst performer this week, both advancing only 0.60%. The gains allowed (DIA A-) to swing into positive territory for the rolling month with an increase of 0.45% – the worst performance. To see how these indices performed last week, check out our ETF Scorecard: November 17 Edition.