Stocks had trouble staying above water during Wednesday's
session as Jamie Dimon's testimony and weak retail sales weighed on
stocks. Speculation about Greek elections didn't help matters
either, but the focus was clearly on the data as sales (less autos
and gas) came in at a
0.1% decline
when many were expecting a 0.4% increase in month-over-month
terms.
Thanks to this, stocks were range bound for much of the day but
finished in the red thanks to an afternoon swoon. The Dow lost 0.6%
while the S&P 500 slumped by 0.7% and the Nasdaq led the
losers, falling by about 0.9% on the day (read
Guide to Small Cap Emerging Market ETFs
).
In terms of sector performances, basic materials and services
were in the red across the board, while telecom and big financials
were in the green. Health care and utilities were more mixed, as
were some of the staples names thanks to the retail sales.
The dollar was a tad weaker on the day though, as the euro
gained half a cent against the U.S. currency, helping to push the
dollar index lower by about 26 cents. Despite this, there was a
strong appetite for T-bills, as the 10 year note lost six basis
points in yield and finished the day at the 1.61% mark.
Commodity markets were surprisingly mixed despite the general
risk off trade as gold and some softs managed to add a bit on the
session. However, most energy products were in the red while a host
of grains and industrial metals finished the day off as well (read
Follow
Goldman into Commodities with These Three ETFs
).
In ETF trading, volume was modest across the board as investors
seemingly wait until Greek elections and other data points before
delving back into the markets. However, investors did continue to
see above average trading levels in some commodity products, a few
European ETFs, and the consumer discretionary sector once
again.
Trading was particularly heavy in the case of the
iShares MSCI Switzerland Index Fund (
EWL
)
. This product usually sees about a quarter million shares change
hands on a regular basis but saw a spike to just over one million
shares during Wednesday trading (read
For Europe ETFs, It Is Hard To Beat Switzerland
).
Likely this heavy interest came as the Swiss government bonds
continue to trade in negative territory across much of the yield
curve, suggesting to some that a peg could soon end between the
franc and the euro. If this happens, it could definitely add to the
volatility in EWL in the short-run and investors are likely
positioning themselves in anticipation of this.
Furthermore, investors should note that the
Swiss Franc ETF (
FXF
)
also saw a great deal of volume as well during Wednesday's session,
suggesting that some investors are expecting a move in the coming
days in the broad Swiss market.
Another ETF that had a big day of volume was the
Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (
XLV
)
which was in focus thanks to its top component
Johnson & Johnson (
JNJ
)
. The product usually sees volume of about 5.7 million shares in a
regular session but saw a spike to just over 15 million during
Wednesday's trading (read
Could The Small Cap Healthcare ETF Be A Great
Pick?
).
This came as the fund's top component, JNJ, added just under
2.2% as the government approved the firm's plans to
acquire medical device maker Synthes
. This news helped to push JNJ to heavy volume on its own, well
ahead of other stocks in the space. However, since JNJ is so
massive, the heavy interest in this firm helped to boost interest
in XLV as a proxy as well, adding to the interest for the popular
SPDR during Wednesday trading.
(see more on ETFs at the
Zacks
ETF Center
)
ISHARS-SWITZERL (EWL): ETF Research Reports
CRYSHS-SWISS FR (FXF): ETF Research Reports
JOHNSON & JOHNS (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis
Report
SPDR-HLTH CR (XLV): ETF Research Reports
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