ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter For May 8, 2015

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ETF/No Load Fund Tracker StatSheet

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THE LINK TO OUR CURRENT ETF/MUTUAL FUND STATSHEET IS:

https://theetfbully.com/2015/05/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-05072015/

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Market Commentary

STOCKS REALIZE SOLID END TO A BUSY WEEK

Fri pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks staged a strong rally Friday as the government reported that job gains rebounded in April. This allowed investors to breathe a sigh of relief, as they were hoping that March’s disappointing jobs report was temporary. The report showed that the economy added 223,000 jobs in April, which was significantly higher than job gains in March. All 30 stocks in the Dow index rose, and all 10 of the S&P sectors gained, with materials and energy leading the way.

For the week, all major indexes were higher, while performance across sectors was mixed. Financials were the strongest upward movers this week, while telecom and energy both moved lower. We received mostly upbeat earnings reports across the board as earnings season is coming to a close.

In international news, a big gain in U.K. stocks today pushed European shares to their biggest gain of 2015 after a surprise election victory for the Conservatives kept David Cameron as Britain’s prime minister. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose about 2.9%.

As far as other economic data goes, retail sales will be announced next Wednesday and the Producer Price Index is expected Thursday.

All of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight joined upward momentum and closed higher. The leader was the Global 100 (IOO) with a gain of 1.83%, which was closely followed by Healthcare (XLV) at +1.62%. Lagging the bunch was DVY, which added 0.97%.

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Weekly StatSheet For The ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter – Updated Through 05/07/2015

Ulli ETF StatSheet Contact

ETF/Mutual Fund Data updated through Thursday, May 7, 2015

TOC021915

If you are not familiar with some of the terminology used, please see the Glossary of Terms.

 

1. DOMESTIC EQUITY MUTUAL FUNDS/ETFs: BUY — since 10/22/2014

TTI

Our main directional indicator, the Domestic Trend Tracking Index (TTI), broke through its long-term trend line generating a “Sell” for this arena effective 10/14/2014, which was followed by a violent break back above the line on 10/22/14 generating a new “Buy.” It was a classic whipsaw signal, and you can read more on my blog as to the events as they were unfolding.

As of today, our TTI (green line in above chart) is positioned above its long term trend line (red) by +2.05% keeping us in the market with our established positions.

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It Was All About Tech Today

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Thur pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks gained today with the Dow climbing 82 points as investors shook off growing concerns about overvalued stocks and rising interest rates.

Markets broke a 2-day losing streak; however, the mood remained cautious after comments by Janet Yellen Wednesday that suggested stocks are generally overvalued. Lady Yellen said market valuations were generally “quite high” in response to a question about risks to financial stability at a conference.

Alibaba (BABA) was all over the news today. Shares gained 7.5% as the Chinese Internet giant reported earnings that toppled Wall Street expectations and noted a strategic HR move, of which entails that the COO Daniel Zhang will become the new CEO. Yahoo (YHOO), who owns about 15% of the Chinese Internet firm, also got a boost as shares jumped 5.2%.

And finally, online review site Yelp (YELP) saw a massive gain of 23% today, mostly based on a report that the company was exploring a sale. Wanna buy? Yelp could net more than $3.5 billion in a strategic sale, says a report from WSJ. Until then, keep yelping your favorite restaurants and hot spots.

9 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight closed up as the indexes managed to establish some upside momentum. Leading the charge were the Financials (IYF) with a gain of 0.75%, while The Global 100 (IOO) was the lone loser with -0.14%.

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Markets Turn South After Early Morning Gains

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Wed pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks pared back early gains to close in the red across the board. Rising interest rates and oil prices appeared to be the culprits today.

Oil dragged markets lower today as prices jumped above $61 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark rose 2.1% to $61.65 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as concerns about rising demand and easing supply stoked the recent rally in crude prices.

Interest rates here in the U.S. continued their steady climb of late. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note was at 2.24%, up from 2.18% on Tuesday, following a global trend of surging yields. Investors continue to listen closely to commentary from Fed policy makers and watch economic data for clues on the timing of future interest-rate increases.

The latest update on the jobs front did not add any confidence to market concerns today. Payroll processor ADP said today that businesses added just 169,000 jobs in April. Economists had expected 198,000 new jobs. The jobs trend has been on a downward move since November 2014.

And in earnings news, Tesla (TSLA) reported losing $45 million last quarter, but that was less than expected. Shares subsequently rose in after-hours trading. Besides its electric cars, Tesla announced last week that it is also going to venture into home and business battery units.

9 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight closed lower with only Consumer Staples (XLP) bucking the trend by gaining 0.31%. Leading the downside were the Financials (IYF) with a loss of 0.46%.

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Markets Move Lower; No Good News From Greece

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Tue pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Markets shifted lower today amidst mixed domestic data, higher bond yields and (believe it or not) renewed concerns over Greece. After a myriad of budget cuts, a million lost jobs, 250,000 closed businesses and nearly 240 billion euros ($267 billion USD) in rescue loans, the country is once again on the brink of default and relations with its creditors are worse than ever.

Tech stocks took a hit today. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) all declined. There was some interesting news though regarding Microsoft. We heard reports today that Microsoft is considering a bid for Salesforce.com, one week following a report the company was fielding bids for a potential takeover. The Salesforce stock (CRM) shot up 3.3% on the news, but did not comment on the rumors. Remember that Microsoft has already notched two major tech deal acquisitions of late. In September of 2013, the company announced it would acquire Nokia’s (NOK) handset business for $7 billion and last September, they scooped up the video game franchise Minecraft for $2.5 billion.

As for economic data, we heard today that the March trade deficit came in at $51.4 billion, which was far above expectations. Apparently, we just keep importing and the largest since 2008.

In earnings news, Walt Disney Co’s (DIS) quarterly revenue beat analysts’ expectations, helped by increased spending by visitors at its theme parks and strength in the company’s TV networks business. The company’s shares rose as much as 2% to a record high of $113.30. Tomorrow, we will hear from Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR), Tesla (TSLA) and a number of other market movers.

With the markets stuck on a black diamond slope today, it’s no surprise that all of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight slumped and closed down. Leading to the downside was the Russell Mid-Cap Value (IWS) with a loss of 1.39%, while financials (IYF) held up the best by surrendering only 0.79%.

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May Is Rockin’ And Rollin’ So Far

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Mon pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Markets moved higher to start the week, led by a batch of strong corporate earnings reports and positive news from Europe. Most sectors posted gains, even energy despite the fact that oil prices were down today. Oil dropped about 22 cents to settle at $58.93 a barrel on the NYME.

Earnings season is winding down as about 72% of S&P 500 companies have now reported. Today we heard from Comcast (CMCSA) and Sysco (SYY). Comcast topped earnings estimates by about 7 cents a share, while Sysco reported a fall in quarterly profits. Sysco noted rising meat prices and a stronger dollar as having the largest impact on their decline in profits. Other notable companies we will hear later this week include Tesla (TSLA), Alibaba (BABA) and Toyota (TM)

As for economic data, the focus this week will be on the jobs report that will be released this Friday. Analysts seem to be back and forth regarding expectations of the report, so it will be interesting to see how it will impact markets.

All of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight headed higher with the leader being the financials (IYF) sporting a 0.76% gain. Lagging the bunch were the Global 100 with a modest advance of 0.12%.

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