Last week saw a slew of economic and earnings reports, though Twitter managed to make headlines last Tuesday after a false tweet nearly derailed the markets. Despite the incident, investors shifted their focus once again to the Q1 earnings season. Though several bellwether companies have posted earnings that have topped expectations, a recent trend seen this season is that companies are beating profits not because revenues are up, but because costs have decreased. This week, investors will once again see many earnings and economic reports. Below, we outline three ETFs that should see a fair amount of activity during the week ahead [see also 7 Simple & Cheap ETF Model Portfolio]:
1. SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT, A-)
Why XRT Will Be In Focus: This ETF tracks an index that is comprised of the roughly 100 U.S.-listed, publicly-traded retail companies, a targeted sub-sector of the consumer discretionary space. Investors should keep a close eye on XRT on Monday and Tuesday as U.S. personal consumption data and consumer confidence are reported, respectively. Analysts are expecting personal consumption expenditure to come in slightly lower at 0.2% for the month of March. Consumer confidence is expected to come in slightly higher [see also 17 ETFs For Day Traders].
2. FTSE China 25 Index Fund (FXI, B)
Why FXI Will Be In Focus: This ETF measures the Chinese stock market with a large cap spin, making it one of the more popular emerging market funds. FXI has over $6 billion in assets, an average daily volume topping 17 million, and is easily the most popular fund dedicated to China. Its place in the spotlight will come on Wednesday when China releases its latest manufacturing PMI data. Analysts are expecting the figure to come in slightly lower at 50.7; the country has missed forecasts in its last two reports.
3. Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI, A+)
Why XLI Will Be In Focus: This fund is one of the most popular on the market, with over $4.2 billion in assets and an average daily volume just over 10 million. XLI seeks to replicate the performance of the U.S. industrial sector and will be in focus this week as ISM manufacturing data for the month of April hits the street on Wednesday. Analysts are expecting ISM data to slip to 51.1 from March’s 51.3 figure [see also How To Pick The Right ETF Every Time].
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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
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