ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter For April 17, 2015

Ulli ETF Tracker Contact

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker StatSheet

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

https://theetfbully.com/2015/04/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-04162015/

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Market Commentary

STOCKS LOWER ON THE WEEK

Fri pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks declined this week, closing down about 0.5% as measured by the S&P 500. The markets bounced around in a narrow range for the most part as investors got their first look at Q1 earnings, but ultimately finished with a pullback Friday on international headlines out of Greece and China and mixed U.S. data.

In tech today, Apple’s (AAPL) stock is down $1.53 cents, or 1.2% this Friday. Some investors and analysts are still holding out hope for Apple’s $1 trillion dream, but many remain pessimistic at present. The current 18-month price target on Apple is $142.42 a share, which equates to an expected market value of $829.6 billion. Still a long ways to go before hitting the Trillion dollar mark!

In auto news today, Ford (F) confirmed that it is investing $2.5 billion in new engine and transmission plants in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Guanajuato. The investment, which Ford says will created 3,800 direct jobs, has been widely expected this week and it follows an announcement by Toyota (TM) on Wednesday that it is spending $1 billion in Mexico on a new factory to build redesigned 2020 Corolla compacts starting in 2019.

As earnings season continues in the coming few weeks, more volatility could return to the markets, underscoring the importance of having an exit strategy, should things go south too much and into bearish territory. First-quarter earnings season will likely set much of the tone for the week ahead. In addition, existing home sales will be reported on Wednesday. New home sales are expected Thursday, and durable goods orders are expected on Friday.

All of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight pulled back today as downward momentum was too much to overcome. Leading the charge into the red was XLY with -1.48% while DVY held up best with a loss of -0.83%.

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Weekly StatSheet For The ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter – Updated Through 04/16/2015

Ulli ETF StatSheet Contact

ETF/Mutual Fund Data updated through Thursday, April 16, 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 +3.66% keeping us in the market with our established positions.

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As Oil Trends Up, Stocks Go Down

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Thur pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks fell in late trading and closed slightly lower as the rebound in oil prices continued and investors assessed another batch of corporate earnings reports.

It was a great day for IPOs. Shares of four companies all rose on their first day of trading. Online craft company Etsy (ETSY) rose 88% to $30 a share after being priced at $16 a share late Wednesday. Party supplier Party City (PRTY) gained 22% to $20.70 and high-speed trading company Virtu Financial (VIRT) jumped 17% to $22.18. Lastly, biotech company KemPharm (KMPH) rose 1.8% to $11 a share.

In earnings news, there were mixed results from financial institutions. Citigroup (C) said earnings jumped to $1.52 per share, speeding past the expected $1.39 per share. Shares climbed 1.5%. Blackstone (BX) shares rose 0.3% after the asset management giant reported its first quarterly earnings nearly doubled. And in healthcare, UnitedHealth (UNH) shares climbed 3.7% as its earnings beat Wall Street estimates and raised its outlook.

And in international news, China’s main stock market rebounded from losses yesterday, when China’s economy posted its worst quarterly growth in six years. The 7% expansion in the January-March period was the weakest since the global financial crisis of 2007. You may not know that Beijing has cut interest rates twice and rolled out targeted stimulus measures following signs that the downturn has been sharper than expected and investors are likely expecting more such boosting measures to come.

5 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight closed higher with XLP taking top billing with a gain of 0.36%, while on the downside, DVY sported a small loss of 0.35%.

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Markets Climb On Positive Earnings Reports

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Wed pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Netflix (NFLX) was all over the news today. The stock surged more than 12% today after the public welcomed earnings news that the company’s revenue jumped 24% and membership surpassed 60 million global users. The Nasdaq composite index reacted accordingly, jumping back above the 5000 mark for the day to close at 5011. The tech-heavy index is about 15 points away from its 2015 closing high of 5026.42 and is 37 points from its all-time closing high of 5048.62 set on March 10, 2000.

While there was a lot of buzz about tech stocks today, it was energy stocks that led the pack again as oil prices rose for a fourth straight day. Benchmark U.S. crude surged nearly 6% to close at $56.39 a barrel in New York.

Other notable earnings news: Delta Airlines (DAL) posted a first quarter profit of $746 million, or 90 cents per share. Intel (INTC) shares surged 4.3% after reporting earnings that met analysts’ expectations. And Bank of America (BAC) said first-quarter results were dampened slightly due to lower interest rates on its debt portfolios. Charlotte-based BAC was off 1.1%.

Lastly, a bit of interesting M&A news. How often have you used your Segway of late? Well, if you don’t have one, it is no surprise. The iconic maker of self-balancing personal electric scooters has been struggling recently and it was announced today that the company has been bought by a Chinese rival, Ninebot.

8 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight joined the rally, which was led by RSP with a 0.62% gain. On the downside, XLP slipped 0.28%. RSP and IOO made new highs for the year as the table in section 3 shows.

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Indexes Close Mixed As Energy Stocks Rally On Higher Oil Prices

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Tue pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

The major indexes closed mixed as energy stocks rallied on higher oil prices, which tech stocks lagged. The Dow moved back above 18,000, but there was no real momentum of note in trading today.

Wells Fargo (WFC) reported that first-quarter earnings fell to $5.8 billion, or $1.04 per share. The results beat analysts’ estimates of 98 cents per share, but the stock still fell 0.7%. Dow component Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) reported that quarterly profits fell 8.6%, mostly due to unfavorable exchange rates, a major divestiture and competition to its new hepatitis C drug. Shares didn’t take much of a hit though, only dipping 0.03%.

As for more upbeat news, retail sales rose in March, which marks the first monthly increase since November. Analysts cited stronger auto sales as the main force driving retail sales higher. Also, we heard today that American consumers’ increased spending boosted retail sales by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in February.

In M&A news, there was a rumor today that Finnish phone-maker Nokia (NOK) is in talks to buy Alcatel-Lucent (ALU). If the acquisition goes through, it would undoubtedly create a new global telecom giant. So, keep your eyes peeled for more news about the deal.

9 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight recovered with the indexes and closed up; the leader was DVY with a gain of +0.57%. On the downside, XLY slipped a scant -0.05%.

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Stocks Fall As Earnings Season Gets Underway

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Mon pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Equities fell as investors look ahead to a busy week of earnings and economic data. The stock market is coming off its second straight week of gains, and its next move will be determined largely by what corporate CEOs say about the earnings outlook for the rest of 2015.

Remember that a sluggish winter, dropping oil prices and a rising dollar have taken their toll on the economy and earnings in the quarter of 2015. Wall Street is expecting the S&P 500 to post its first contraction in quarterly earnings in almost six years when first-quarter profit reports are all tallied up.

We heard great news from the credit ratings industry today. Fitch Ratings – one of the largest providers of credit ratings for debt – affirmed the AAA rating for the USA Monday. The rating is extremely important with bond investors, who aren’t just concerned about a creditor’s current financial situation, but more importantly, how it looks in the future.

We will see a notable amount of earnings this week. In banking, Wells Fargo (WFC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will start things off on Tuesday. A few techs have reported March-quarter results, but the season really kicks off with Intel (INTC) after the market close Tuesday. The No. 1 chipmaker is expected to post EPS of 41 cents, up 8% and revenue is expected to inch up 1% to $12.9 billion.

And in international news, we saw data today that showed trade in China shrank more than expected in March, with imports down 12.7% from a year earlier and exports falling 15%. The numbers fueled concern that economic data due out Wednesday will show overall growth fell further in the first three months of 2015 after declining to 7.3% in the final quarter of last year.

Only 1 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight, namely IYF, managed to buck the trend by adding +0.23%; all others ended up in the red with DVY showing the most weakness with a -0.66% loss.

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