ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter For Friday, February 24, 2012

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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/2012/02/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-02232012/

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Market Commentary

Friday, February 24, 2012

MAJOR MARKET INDEXES END WEEK HIGHER, ENERGY LINKED ETFS SHINE AS CRUDE PRICES INCH HIGHER

Wall Street stocks ended the week higher on Friday as better-than-expected economic data continued to flow in. The enthusiasm was somewhat tempered, however, as oil prices breached the $109 barrier amid tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.

The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 75.3 for Feb., topping expectations of 73 for the month. New-home sales number, although higher than last month’s reading, fell short of estimates, indicating that the housing market is not out of the woods yet.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) failed to clear the psychologically important, but technically irrelevant 13,000 level again today. The DJIA lost about two points, or less than 0.1 percent, to end at 12,982.95. The Dow has been trading at its highest level in nearly four years since the start of February.

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Weekly StatSheet For The ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter – Updated Through 02/23/2012

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ETF/Mutual Fund Data updated through Thursday, February 23, 2012

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

Note: UNG had a 4:1 reverse split, which is not yet reflected in today’s momentum data

 

1. DOMESTIC EQUITY MUTUAL FUNDS/ETFs: BUY — since 10/25/2011

The domestic TTI broke through its long-term trend line generating a Sell for this area effective 8/9/2011. Over the recent past, we’ve seen the TTI hovering slightly below and above this dividing line between bullish and bearish territory. The clear break to the upside occurred on 10/24/11 and, effective 10/25/11, a new Buy signal for domestic equities went into effect.

As of today, our Trend Tracking Index (TTI—green line in above chart) has broken above its long term trend line (red) by +5.60%. Be sure to tune into my blog for the latest updates.

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Equities Rally On Strong Economic Data—Gasoline ETF Booms As Pump Prices Gain

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[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

Strong economic data drove US equities higher today paring yesterday’s losses with the S&P climbing to a near ten-month high. Major indexes are already in the green on the week after investors were greeted with better-than-expected unemployment data on Thursday. A strong report on German economic outlook boosted sentiments further.

The stock markets have performed well so far this year and a little pull-back would ensure that everything’s in place. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent after falling as much as 56 points in previous sessions.

Consumer products maker Procter & Gamble led Thursday’s rally as two-thirds of the 30-component Dow were up over the previous day. Other major gainers were IBM (IBM), Disney (DIS) and Travelers (TRV).

Hewlett-Packard was the day’s biggest laggard and shed 6.3 percent after latest fiscal quarter ending on Jan. 31 showed a dramatic 44 percent drop in profits as sales tanked 7 percent.

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Major Market ETFs Drift Sideways, Gold Gains Again As Yellow Metal Inches Towards $1,800

Ulli Market Review Contact

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

US equity indexes ended the day lower as markets took a break on Wednesday after rallying for three sessions amid fears about global recovery and the sustainability of Greek measures in the mid-term.

There has been much chatter about a possible contagion in the short-term when the Greek crisis had broken out. This hypothesis has become irrelevant now since private-sector lenders have been forced to take a 70 percent haircut anyway and the distinction between a default and bailout is merely a technical detail now.

As far as Greece is concerned, a feasible (and possible) solution could be the so-called ‘internal devaluation’ of the euro to make the country more competitive. This will involve mainly wage reduction inside the country, forcing workers to live on fewer Euros than they have been used to.

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7 ETF Model Portfolios You Can Use – Updated through 2/21/2012

Ulli Model ETF Portfolios Contact

The S&P 500 advanced some 0.8% since last week’s ETF Model Portfolio report with all eyes remaining on the final outcome, whenever that will be, of the Greek debt saga.

More layers of austerity were added during today’s Eurozone meeting, but questions abound, and rightfully so, how a country mired in a depression, with more cuts to come, will be able to grow its way back to prosperity.

A default will ultimately be unavoidable in my opinion, but right now the trends remain up, and we continue to track our invested positions and trailing sell stop levels.

Take a look at the latest ETF Model Portfolio update:

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Equity ETFs Remain Flat After Greek Deal, XHB Slips, GLD Glitters

Ulli Market Review Contact

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

The Greek torment finally ended (I hope) as Eurogroup Finance Ministers agreed to a long-awaited €130 billion second bailout package early on Tuesday. The final deal arm-twisted the private holders of Greek debt to accept even higher losses than they had agreed to last month.

European officials now say that private lenders, led by banks and hedge funds, have agreed to accept a voluntary 53.5 percent haircut despite approving a 50 percent cut in the face-value of bonds in October in a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy.

The new deal doesn’t leave much room for euphoria, though Athens managed to stay on in the economic zone and managed to avoid a disorderly default that could have sent global markets in a tizzy.

Both Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the eurogroup finance ministers warned that Greece still needs to take a series of steps by the end of the month before the IMF and/or the eurozone governments sign off the deal.

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