Dion's Weekly ETF Blog Wrap

Stock Up on Staples

Published 7/06/2011 4:45 p.m. EDT

Investors seem more willing to put the temporary issues facing the global economy behind them and concentrate on the recent equity upswing. While concerns about Portugal's downgrade, European debt problems and Chinese inflation certainly made headlines, these short-term fears weren't enough to sink consumer-driven stocks today.

Leaders in today's market included stocks like Union Pacific (UNP), Costco (COST), DuPont (DD), Intel (INTC) and Caterpillar (CAT). While some of these firms market consumer necessities, others -- like INTC and CAT -- mirror economic growth.

In the short term, particularly during this holiday-shortened trading week, investors are going to have to keep dealing with the economic concerns abroad that are making headlines. Watching equity performance, however, it's easy to see that consumers are stronger than many analysts imagine and are looking ahead to a longer-term recovery.

I continue to be bullish on well-balanced consumer-driven funds like the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT), staple ETFs like the SPDR Consumer Staples (XLP), and even consumer discretionary aimed funds like the PowerShares Leisure and Entertainment ETF (PEJ).

At the time of publication, Dion Money Management had no holdings in the stocks mentioned.

At the time of publication, Dion Money Management was long FDN.

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