The good times continued for the bulls last week. When the
closing bell sounded on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
was found resting above 14,000 for the first time since 2007 and
the S&P 500 capped its best January performance since
1997.
The S&P 500 is now up 6.1 percent year-to-date and all
three major U.S. indexes are higher on the year.
With earnings season winding to a close (roughly half of the
S&P 500 members have delivered quarterly results), traders
may see the days ahead as an ideal time to book some profits
while waiting for the next catalyst to move stocks and riskier
assets higher.
Still, some near-term profit-taking does not mean the market's
upward trajectory is in significant danger.
The week ahead is again heavy on data reports as the December
factory orders report is due out today. Fourth-quarter
productivity, the December consumer-credit reading and weekly
jobless claims will be delivered on Thursday. And even though
earnings season is drawing to a close, there are still plenty of
reports to keep an eye. Indeed, the following
ETFs
should be in play this week.
SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE:
XRT
) Following a stellar run in 2012, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF
has continued to impress in 2013. The ETF has made a series of
new all-time highs to start the year. Last week, the Conference
Board said its January consumer confidence index plunged to 58.6
from 66.7 in December. The January reading is the lowest since
November 2011.
However, Commerce Department said U.S. consumer spending rose
0.2% in December following a 0.4% increase in November. Overall,
recent data points have been good and perhaps a case can be made
the January drop in consumer confidence was a one-off event.
Sure, some XRT constituents report earnings this week, but
given this ETF's almost 28 percent weight to apparel retailers
and a nearly 16 percent allocation to specialty stories, the fund
can be sensitive to conflicting consumer-related data points.
Last week was an exception, but XRT's RSI resides above 80,
indicating the fund could be ripe for some profit-taking if data
is disappointing this week.
iShares S&P Global Energy Sector Index Fund (NYSE:
IXC
) Oil prices rose for the eighth consecutive week last week,
giving futures the look of being in need of a near-term pullback.
However, that retrenchment may not materialize this week and the
iShares S&P Global Energy Sector Index Fund is not lacking
for catalysts with which to make a run at its September 2012
highs.
Yes, most of the major U.S. oil companies have delivered
earnings, but a pair of IXC holdings deliver results today, those
being Anadako Petroleum (NYSE:
APC
) and Petrobras (NYSE:
PBR
). Do not expect much out of the latter, but Anadarko has the
potential to deliver results that could send the stock soaring.
More importantly, BP (NYSE:
BP
), five percent of IXC's weight, delivers results Tuesday before
the bell. Statoil (NYSE:
STO
) reports later in the week. Those four stocks combine for about
nine percent of IXC's weight.
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare Providers Index Fund (NYSE:
IHF
) Maybe it is because the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare
Providers Index Fund has average daily volume of less than 29,000
shares that the ETF does not get much attention, but ignoring
this fund has meant leaving 5.8 percent in year-to-date returns
on the table.
In December, some analysts
health insurance providers could post
double-digit EPS growth this year
.
How accurate that forecast will be remains to be seen, but
investors may get a glimpse if the IHF holdings reporting this
week provide guidance. Cigna (NYSE:
CI
), Humana (NYSE:
HUM
) and Coventry Health Care (NYSE:
CVH
) all report this week. That trio represents 13.5 percent of
IHF's weight.
For more on ETFs, click
here
.
(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment
advice. All rights reserved.
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