Last year was truly downbeat for international markets. Deflationary worries in Europe, slowdown in China and Japan, as well as the oil price carnage amid slowing demand and piling inventories caused temporary disruptions in global markets.
In fact, the concerns occasionally pulled back Wall Street from outperforming in an otherwise improving U.S. economy. However, the scenario turned around at the onset of 2015 as most central banks, be it in Europe or Asia, chose policy easing.
As a result, international equities performed admirably in the first quarter as evident from the 5.1% return delivered by Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU). In comparison, the U.S. stocks rose modestly in the time period with SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) returning just 1.32%.
Among the foreign markets, the Euro zone reappeared impressively after facing severe weakness, while some other economies like China and Japan saw notable strength throughout the quarter. Below, we highlight a few of these strong momentum plays, which may be worth paying attention to in the second quarter to see if these can sustain their captivating march.
China
Although the Chinese economy has been reeling under pressure for a long time, the Chinese bourses have not. The more the economy is coming up with submissive economy data, the more the stocks are soaring on hopes of solid monetary stimulus.
The 24-year low GDP growth in 2014, credit crunch, property market slump, the persistently lagging manufacturing sector has already led the Chinese authorities to ease the monetary policy to some extent. Market participants are now hoping for more easing which took the Chinese shares to a seven-year high at the end of March (read: Policy Easing Puts China ETFs in Focus).
The performance was sounder in the Chinese A-shares space – the turnover of which touched a historic high last year. The current Renminbi (RMB) internationalization, the recent interest rate cuts by the People's Bank of China (PBoC) twice in just four months and the government’s efforts to shore up the rural sector and spur domestic demand allured foreign investors to participate in the mainland China equities.
This strong trend has made Market Vectors ChinaAMC SME-ChiNext ETF (CNXT) the best performer in the first quarter. The fund has added as much as 47% in Q1. The fund looks to track the performance of the 100 largest and most liquid China A-share stocks.
Yet another A-shares ETF db X-trackers Harvest CSI 500 China-A Shares Small Cap Fund (ASHS) also advanced more than 35% in the quarter (read: China ETFs: Bull or Bear in the Year of the Goat?).
Solar
Another big winner of the first quarter was from the alternative energy space. President Obama’s ‘Climate Change Action Plan’ and Apple-First Solar Deal helped in pushing the space northward. Obama’s new budget proposal seeks an approximate 7.2% rise in funding for the clean energy space. The proposal asks Congress for a permanent extension of tax credits for the solar and wind industry (read: Obama Budget Plan Drives Up These Sector ETFs).
On the other hand, Apple (AAPL) has clinched a solar deal with First Solar (FSLR) to enter into the largest commercial power agreement in the clean energy industry. Quite expectedly, the dual forces have revived investors’ interest for this corner of the market. Guggenheim Solar ETF (TAN) emerged as a true beneficiary of this trend, returning above 30% in the quarter while (KWT) also stood out a solid play in this segment (up about 22% in Q1).
Currency Hedged Germany
Thanks to the launch of the QE measure by the ECB, Germany-oriented ETFs, definitely hedged ones, were on fire in the first quarter. The devaluation of the euro against the greenback bolstered the appeal for hedged investing in the Euro zone space. Inside the Euro bloc, the largest economy gained the most. The German business morale increased for the fifth successive month in March, touching an eight-month high. Its economy grew 0.7% in Q4 compared with a 0.1% expansion in Q3 of 2014, suggesting that recovery is on track.
This trend proved helpful for Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity ETF (DBGR) which added about 22% in the quarter and was the fifth top performer of Q1. Another ETF iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany (HEWG) also outperformed in the quarter, gaining 20.8%. WisdomTree Germany Hedged Equity ETF (DXGE) was also up 19.6% (read: 5 International ETFs Beating the S&P 500 in Q1).
Other Notable Winners
Among the other top performers, hedged Japan ETFs put up a remarkable show in the first quarter with WisdomTree Japan Hedged Health Care ETF (DXJH) adding about 21%. However, one U.S. ETF that caught the eye in Q1 was BioShares Biotechnology Products ETF (BBP) with astounding 19% gain.
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SPDR-SP 500 TR (SPY): ETF Research Reports
VANGD-FTSE AWLD (VEU): ETF Research Reports
MKT VEC-CHINAMC (CNXT): ETF Research Reports
DEUTS-XT HV CS5 (ASHS): ETF Research Reports
GUGG-SOLAR (TAN): ETF Research Reports
MKT VEC SOLAR (KWT): ETF Research Reports
APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
FIRST SOLAR INC (FSLR): Free Stock Analysis Report
DEUTS-XT MS GER (DBGR): ETF Research Reports
ISHA-CH MS GERM (HEWG): ETF Research Reports
WISDMTR-GER HEF (DXGE): ETF Research Reports
DYNEX CAP INC (DX): Free Stock Analysis Report
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