The S&P 500 touched a five-year high last week only to
back a way from that lofty area as stocks meandered through most
of last week without much conviction. At the end of the week, it
was accurate to call broader market price action "fair" as the
S&P 500 added 0.38 percent while the Dow Jones Industrial
Average climbed 0.4 percent.
Look at the week ahead, this has the potential to be the first
time in quite a while that traders and investors are able to
focus corporate earnings, not the goings on in Washington, D.C.
No, the debt ceiling debate has not been put to bed, but with
over 70 marquee companies reporting earnings this week, the
market has something else to ponder beyond politics.
With a week full of earnings reports, guidance and revisions,
picking this week's candidates for
ETFs
to trade was easier than usual. Consider the following funds.
Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE:
XLF
) The no-brainer of this list. Bank of America (NYSE:
BAC
), Citigroup (NYSE:
C
), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:
GS
) and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:
JPM
) all report this week. That quarter combines for 17.4 percent of
XLF's weight and that does not include reports from the likes of
Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:
BK
), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:
USB
) on Tuesday and BB&T and PNC (NYSE:
PNC
) on Thursday.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:
MS
), SunTrust (NYSE:
STI
) and State Street (NYSE:
STT
) all step into the earnings confessional Friday. All of that is
to say this week will be a busy one for XLF and a possible test
of the ETF's ability to turn old resistance at $17 into new
support if need be.
Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSE:
SMH
) Semiconductor names were not exactly a leadership group in
2012, but the Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF has been on the
receiving end of some positive catalysts in 2013.
In the past month, SMH has gained 3.7 percent and its chart is
showing increasing strength. The fund has an eventful Thursday
ahead of it as U.S. traders will wake up Taiwan Semiconductor's
(NYSE:
TSM
) results and Intel (NASDAQ:
INTC
) reports after the close that same day. Those two stocks combine
for almost 34 percent of SMH's weight.
Market Vectors Oil Services ETF (NYSE:
OIH
) It has been noted that
energy stocks and ETFs have recently shown signs
of life
. The Market Vectors Oil Services ETF is no exception as that
fund has surged over five percent in the past month alone.
OIH also shares something in common with SMH. That is large
allocations to a small number of stocks. In the case of OIH,
Schlumberger accounts for 19.2 percent of the fund's weight. That
is important because Schlumberger, the world's largest oil
services firm, reports earnings on Friday morning. That report
could set the tone for OIH and its constituents throughout
earnings season.
For more on ETFs, click
here
.
(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment
advice. All rights reserved.
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