In case you missed it, here’s a summary of the ETF topics and market reviews I posted to my blog during the week ending on 12/25/2011. The markets catapulted higher, although on very low volume, which tends to distort the true direction, but it gave the impression that a Santa Claus rally had actually materialized, which brought the S&P 500 …
Sunday Musings: Lowering Risk Exposure Amidst Great Uncertainty
As we turn a corner into a new year, great uncertainty still looms in global markets. Europe lacks the financial firepower to overcome the debt crisis at the moment and political resolve is quite thin. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is prone to contagion. In this week’s video, I am highlighting Michael Platt, a hedge fund manager who is …
Major Market ETFs Gain a Little More
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] European uncertainty continues to hang over us, but that didn’t stop major market ETFs from trending up as the S&P 500 rose 0.83%. However, the Euro is still at $1.31/Euro, indicating that risk perception remains high. In the U.S., the bleak unemployment picture seemed to hit a bright spot. Unemployment claims this past week hit their …
Waiting For A Big Move As ETFs Show Little Action
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] Not a lot of movers and shakers in the market today as the S&P 500 finished up only 0.19%. While most of the indexes hovered near zero, tech got pretty battered as the NASDAQ fell 0.99% based on Oracle’s weak earnings, having a domino effect on other tech stocks such as IBM. Although I hesitate to …
Big Upswing for Equity ETFs, But There’s Still No Sigh Of Relief
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] Markets suddenly were in a bullish mood today as indices worldwide moved to the upside. The S&P 500 jumped 2.98% while European indices such as the DAX gained 3.11%. However, the Euro didn’t move much against the dollar, ending at $1.31/Euro. With equity ETFs gaining, bond ETFs didn’t fare as well. The 10-year Treasury had a …
Major Market ETF Declines Show That Pessimism Isn’t Fading Away Soon
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] The week started off on a bad note, as major market ETFs swung to the downside. The S&P 500 dropped 1.17% while other U.S. indices performed similarly. The dollar stayed at $1.30/Euro while commodities didn’t move much. Keeping in line with the uncertainty in Europe, investors continued to flock toward Treasuries, with the 10-year Treasury falling …