Stocks Relatively Flat On Monday; M&A News Takes Majority Of Headlines

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Mon pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks dropped early on, but were able to cut losses and end mostly positive by the end of the day. The Dow gained 0.1%, the S&P 500 index rose a fractional 0.03%, and the Nasdaq lost 0.1% on the day. Most of the headlines today centered on M&A deals.

The dollar store titans were back in M&A news today. Shares of both Dollar Tree (DLTR) and Family Dollar (FDO) rose after Dollar Tree announced it is buying its rival for $8.5 billion. Family Dollar surged 24.9% to end the day at $75.74 and Dollar Tree ended up 1.2% to $54.87. It seems the dollar deal market is still in full swing and that market demand remains high.

Also, we heard today that real estate website Zillow (Z) said it is buying Trulia (TRLA) for $3.5 billion in stock. Trulia shot up 15.4% to $65.04 and Zillow gained 0.9% to $160.32.

Upcoming in economic news this week, the government will release its first estimate of second-quarter GDP product on Wednesday and the July employment report on Friday.

Of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight 1 slipped today and 9 gained. No new highs were made.

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ETFs/Mutual Funds On The Cutline – Updated Through 07/25/2014

Ulli ETFs on the Cutline Contact

Below are the latest ETF Cutline reports, which show how far above or below their respective long-term trend lines (39 week SMA) my currently tracked ETFs/MFs are positioned.

The first report covers the ETF Master List from Thursday’s StatSheet and includes 398 ETFs, of which currently 362 (last week 364) are hovering in bullish territory.

The second report includes only High Volume ETFs. To clarify, High Volume (HV) ETFs are defined as those with an average daily volume of $10 million or higher.

These ETFs are generated from my selected list of some 97 that I use in my advisor practice. It cuts out the “noise,” which simply means it eliminates those ETFs that I would never buy because of their volume limitations. 86 ETFs (last week 84) have managed to remain in bullish territory after the recent market volatility.

The third report covers Mutual Funds on the Cutline. There are currently 742 (last week 751) above the line and 108 below it out of the 850 that I follow.

Take a look:

1. ETF Master Cutline Report     

2. ETF High Volume Cutline Report

3. MF Cutline Report

In case you are not familiar with some of the terminology used in the reports, please read the Glossary of Terms.

If you missed the original post about the Cutline approach, you can read it here.

One Man’s Opinion: Are Europe, Asia And Emerging Market Equity Prices Relatively Cheap?

Ulli Market Review Contact

92835431

Economic or earnings growth has mostly remained insulated from the ongoing global unrest and as such, should have little significance for the global economy, according to Russ Koesterich, chief investment strategist at BlackRock Inc.

There are a number of reasons why investors chose to ignore geopolitical risks. First, central bank policies kept volatilities really low. Second, people have been conditioned to buy the dip. The third and the most important point, however, is that there has been no direct link between some of the events in Middle East and the economic/earnings environment. However, the catch is, that may change depending upon what happens in the Middle East because that could push up oil prices, he noted.

In a recent research note, Ross observed that this is the right time to buy volatility because nobody is paying attention to it and it is one of the last few cheap asset classes. Asked to explain, Russ said volatility is likely to pick up if there is a shock arising out of a spike in oil prices. But the biggest risk, however, remains the central bank policy.

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New ETFs On The Block: Sprott Gold Miners ETF (SGDM)

Ulli Gold and Gold mining ETFs Contact

78528590Gold-focused funds experienced a turbulent 2013 after Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke announced the end of asset purchases in May. Gold miners were no exception, and many funds lost 50 percent or more value in the following months.

However, 2014 has been a totally different story and many gold miner exchange-traded funds came out on top though volatility in the space generally remained elevated. While Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) added 23.43 and 31.95 percent respectively, many gold mining benchmarks are up nearly 20 percent year-to-date despite the recent slump, easily beating the S&P 500.

Against such favorable setting, Sprott Asset Management, a Toronto-based precious metals specialist, unveiled the Sprott Gold Miners ETF (SGDM) recently. Listed on the NYSE, the new fund will track the Sprott Zacks Gold Miners Index, a rules-based index that is rebalanced quarterly.

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07-25-2014

Ulli Newsletter Archives Contact

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter For July 25, 2014

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker StatSheet

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

https://theetfbully.com/2014/07/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-07242014/

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Market Commentary

Friday, July 25, 2014

UP AND DOWN WAS THE NAME OF THE GAME FOR MARKETS THIS WEEK

Fri pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks were relatively flat on the week and moved up and down amidst a combination of positive global economic readings, but mixed earnings announcements from many large U.S. companies. The S&P 500 touched a new all-time high midweek, the 27th record close so far this year, and the index is up 8.52%.

Earnings announcements from Visa (V), Pandora (P) and Amazon (AMZN), Boeing (BA) and Caterpillar (CAT) were notable disappointments that were a drag on the market.

On the economic front, initial jobless claims for unemployment benefits fell 19,000 to 284,000, the lowest level since February 2006, which is very encouraging. Housing data was mixed, however. New home sales fell 8.1% in June from May to a 406,000 unit annual rate, completely reversing the strong increase in May.

In the week ahead, a full slate of economic reports along with another round of second-quarter earnings announcements will give investors a lot to digest. The July employment report should steal headlines, with expectations for 230,000 jobs to have been created in the month. The first read on U.S. second-quarter GDP growth should also draw attention, giving the markets a look at just how much the economy recovered after the cold, snowy and weak first quarter.

Our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight slipped today and no new highs were made. I have included a chart for all 10 of them for quick reference. Take a look below:

2. ETFs in the Spotlight

In case you missed the announcement and description of this section, you can read it here again.

It features 10 broadly diversified ETFs from my HighVolume list as posted every Monday. Furthermore, they are screened for the lowest MaxDD% number meaning they have been showing better resistance to temporary sell offs than all others over the past year.

Here are the 10 candidates:

MaxDD

All of them are in “buy” mode, meaning their prices are above their respective long term trend lines by the percentage indicated (%M/A).

Year to date, here’s how the above candidates have fared so far:

YTD

To be clear, the first table above shows the position of the various ETFs in relation to their respective long term trend lines (%M/A), while the second one tracks their trailing sell stops in the “Off High” column. The “Action” column will signal a “Sell” once the -7.5% point is taken out in the “Off High” column.

And for a quick visual review, below are the charts for all of 10 them. Courtesy of VinViz.com:

FinVizClick on chart to enlarge

3. Domestic Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs)

Our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) hardly changed as the S&P meandered and closed just about even with last Friday:

Domestic TTI: +2.72% (last Friday +2.90%)

International TTI: +3.03% (last Friday +3.35%)

Have a nice weekend.

Ulli…

Disclosure: I am obliged to inform you that I, as well as advisory clients of mine, own some of these listed ETFs. Furthermore, they do not represent a specific investment recommendation for you, they merely show which ETFs from the universe I track are falling within the guidelines specified.

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READER Q & A FOR THE WEEK

All Reader Q & A’s are listed at our web site!
Check it out at:

http://www.successful-investment.com/q&a.php

A note from reader Tarantola:

Q: Ulli: The performance of the ETFs in the Spotlight is impressive. Do you have any suggestion on how some or all of them might be included in a portfolio? Or could they form a portfolio in themselves?

A: Tarentola: I can’t give direct advice, since I don’t know your circumstances. You should make your selections based on your risk tolerance. Sure, you could use all of them, if you have a larger portfolio or just some of them.

As a general observation, most investors diversify too much. For example, for a $500k portfolio, I have used as few as 4 ETFs. Whatever your mode of operation, be sure to use my recommended sell stop discipline.

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR INVESTMENTS PROFESSIONALLY MANAGED?

Do you have the time to follow our investment plans yourself? If you are a busy professional who would like to have his portfolio managed using our methodology, please contact me directly or get more details at:

https://theetfbully.com/personal-investment-management/

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Back issues of the ETF/No Load Fund Tracker are available on the web at:

https://theetfbully.com/newsletter-archives/

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter For July 25, 2014

Ulli ETF Tracker Contact

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker StatSheet

————————————————————-

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

https://theetfbully.com/2014/07/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-07242014/

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Market Commentary

Friday, July 25, 2014

UP AND DOWN WAS THE NAME OF THE GAME FOR MARKETS THIS WEEK

Fri pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks were relatively flat on the week and moved up and down amidst a combination of positive global economic readings, but mixed earnings announcements from many large U.S. companies. The S&P 500 touched a new all-time high midweek, the 27th record close so far this year, and the index is up 8.52%.

Earnings announcements from Visa (V), Pandora (P) and Amazon (AMZN), Boeing (BA) and Caterpillar (CAT) were notable disappointments that were a drag on the market.

On the economic front, initial jobless claims for unemployment benefits fell 19,000 to 284,000, the lowest level since February 2006, which is very encouraging. Housing data was mixed, however. New home sales fell 8.1% in June from May to a 406,000 unit annual rate, completely reversing the strong increase in May.

In the week ahead, a full slate of economic reports along with another round of second-quarter earnings announcements will give investors a lot to digest. The July employment report should steal headlines, with expectations for 230,000 jobs to have been created in the month. The first read on U.S. second-quarter GDP growth should also draw attention, giving the markets a look at just how much the economy recovered after the cold, snowy and weak first quarter.

Our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight slipped today and no new highs were made. I have included a chart for all 10 of them for quick reference. Take a look below:

Read More