FEZ and EWJ Fall following a Global Commodity and Equity Sell-Off
Oil's Price Plunge Contributes to Bearish Sentiments for FEZ, EWJ
FEZ and EZU both fall by 1.4%
On Wednesday, December 2, 2015, the SPDR Euro Stoxx 50 ETF (FEZ) and the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU) closed at $35.72 and $36.15, respectively. Both ETFs fell by 1.4%, and 1.4%, respectively.
On December 2, 2015, US crude oil prices fell ~4%, and were trading below $40 per barrel again, which created bearish sentiment in the commodity and equity market.
EWJ falls following sell-off
On Wednesday, December 2, 2015, the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) closed at $12.47. It fell by 0.80% following a global sell-off in the commodity and equity space.
Overall market snapshot
The United States Oil ETF (USO) fell 3.6% on December 2, 2015, due to the inventory data reported by the energy department. Crude oil inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels, though analysts had expected it to fall.
With the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) meeting in focus, investors are now eagerly awaiting news on whether Saudi Arabia will take steps to cut down production in an effort to stabilize crude oil prices.
The fall in crude oil prices dragged the performance of the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE), which fell by 3.1% on December 2, 2015. Energy stocks ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and ConocoPhillips (COP) fell 2.9%, 2.4%, and 3.8%, respectively.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell 1.0% on December 2, 2015, due to the fall in crude oil prices as well as the Federal Reserve’s strong indication of a rate hike this month, as the US economy is on track. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) fell 1.6% on December 2.
In the next part of the series, we’ll discuss industry performance within FEZ on December 2, 2015.
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