Major Market ETFs Retreat On FOMC Minutes; VXX Rises, GAZ Sinks

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[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

US stocks slipped Tuesday with the Dow Industrials declining for the first time in four days after the minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee indicated lesser possibility for further monetary stimulus. The markets reminded me of that famous Rolling Stone song “you can’t always get what you want,” as another QE had been expected.

Treasuries sank, pushing 10-year yields to their highest level in more than a week as speculators closed positions after the Fed indicated halting further quantitative easing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) retreated 0.5 percent to end the day at 13,199.50. Markets witnessed a sell off after speculations over another round of monetary stimulus turned out not to be on the front burner with the Fed. However, last hour buying limited the downside move, as we have seen just about during all recent sell off attempts.

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US Equity ETFs Rally Into The Second Quarter; GAZ Pops, VXX Tanks

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[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

US stocks rallied Monday, extending last week’s advances, after better-than-expected latest domestic manufacturing data stretched Wall Street’s best first quarter since 1998.

The Dow climbed to its highest level since 2007 after the Institute of Supply Management’s index on manufacturing activity rose to 53.4 in March, slightly beating market expectations. The Federal Reserve kept buying debt to cap borrowing costs that would lead to an expanded balance sheet.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) jumped 52.45 points to 13,264.49 after manufacturing report for March showed prices rose lower than forecast, easing immediate inflation worries, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) added 0.7 percent to 1418.90 with the commodities sector rallying the most.

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ETFs/Mutual Funds On The Cutline – Updated Through 3/30/2012

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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 346 (last week 349) of them 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 93 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. 72 ETFs (last week 74) have managed to move into in bullish territory after the recent run up.

The third report covers Mutual Funds on the Cutline. There are currently 802 (last week 805) above the line and 59 below it out of the 861 that I follow.

Take a look:

1. ETF Master Cutline Report

2. ETF High Volume Cutline Report

3. MF Cutline Report

Last Week In Review: ETF News And Blog Posts To 4/1/2012

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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 4/1/2012.

After Monday’s surge, the major market ETFs spent the remainder of the week in a sideways pattern but managed to close out the quarter on the upside.

Small pullbacks did not accelerate to the downside, but served as an apparent buying opportunity. With this quarter having turned out to be the best in some 10 years, I have to wonder how much higher this euphoria can carry us.

All good things must come to an end eventually, however, right now upward momentum is in place, and our sell stops are predetermined and ready to be executed in case the trend reverses all of a sudden and brings the downside back into play.

This week, we covered the following:

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US Stocks May Witness Pull Back After Q1 Results, Says Wells Fargo Portfolio Strategist

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The S&P 500 has grown 12 percent in Q1, 2012. Is the market headed for a correction or are the indexes fairly valued?

If Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Well Fargo Advantage Funds, is to be believed, it’s unlikely we will see a sharp correction. Instead we may witness a pullback, similar to the one we saw at the beginning of the week.

As the saying goes: April showers bring May flowers; there can be a pullback due to worries over the sustainability of profits and the political developments, especially this being an election year, but a 10 percent correction seems unlikely.  However, he thinks the S&P 500 can touch 1,450 after the election gets over in November.

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Do You Want To Bet On Asia And Wish To Look Beyond China And India? Five ETFs Worth Considering

Ulli Country ETFs Contact

These nations, excluding Japan, formerly known as the Asian Tigers, offer good investment opportunities for investors looking to diversify their Asia portfolio.

Some of them, like Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore are industrial powerhouses while others like the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia enjoy excellent demographics and natural resources.

Compared to more established markets, these markets display more volatility (higher beta). When global markets witness bull-runs, these markets outperform. Conversely, when markets slide, these markets underperform and witness steeper declines.

Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are rich in natural resources and stand to benefit from a growing China. They also have a young population that can generate huge internal demand and can decouple from global markets in times of heightened volatility.

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