Five ETFs to Watch This Week
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are five ETFs to watch this week.
Market Vectors Nuclear ETF
(NLR) - Get Report
Washington faced a substantial shake-up during last week's mid-term elections. There will be no downtime for these newly elected legislators, as the debate over energy reform kicks off.
With Republicans leading the House of Representatives, political analysts predict that nuclear energy will receive some welcomed attention. ETF investors looking to gain access to this industry should look to NLR.
Although Washington debate will play a part in shaping the outlook for nuclear energy, investors should keep an eye on earnings this week as well. Industry leader
Cameco
(CCJ) - Get Report
is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings report early on Monday. CCJ is NLR's largest position, accounting for nearly 10% of its total portfolio.
SPDR S&P Retail ETF
(XRT) - Get Report
Earnings season will play a big part in directing the performance of the retail industry this week. XRT index constituents such as
Macy's
(M) - Get Report
,
JCPenney
(JCP) - Get Report
,
Advance Auto Parts
(AAP) - Get Report
and
Priceline
(PCLN)
are all scheduled to report their quarterly performance.
Also, though not listed among XRT's holdings,
Polo Ralph Lauren
(RL) - Get Report
is also scheduled to release its earnings report. This firm's performance will likely provide some indication as to how teen and mid-range retailers will perform this week.
The consumer looks like a promising facet of the market as the global economy continues to heal and we prepare for the upcoming holiday gift giving season. Investors can use funds including XRT and
PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio
(PBJ) - Get Report
to access the consumer's recovery.
Market Vectors Indonesia ETF
(IDX) - Get Report
The emerging markets continue to prove promising as investors seek out investing opportunities beyond the shores of the United States. Last week, in attempts to fend off inflation resulting from this rampant interest, nations including Vietnam and India raised interest rates.
While countries such as Vietnam and India appear promising, not every corner of the emerging market world is as rosy. Indonesia, in particular, could be in for a rocky ride in coming days as the nation faces continuing threat of natural disaster.
Since the end of October, Mount Merapi has been erupting, threatening villages and taking lives.
So far, the eruptions have had little effect on IDX's performance. Still, I would advise investors to use extreme caution when venturing into the fund in the near future.
iShares Gold Trust
(IAU) - Get Report
Precious metal ETFs scored impressive gains in light of last week's policy statement from the
Federal Reserve
, leading physical backed-gold funds like IAU back to previous all time highs. Gold has been an attractive source of protection against market uncertainty and will likely remain strong next week as well.
IAU, in particular, will be interesting to watch this week in light of last week's NSX report. The October inflow data compiled by the firm indicated that the ETF price war is having an effect on investor preference. IAU, which recently pared back its expense ratio, managed to score strong inflows from investors while industry leader
SPDR Gold Shares
(GLD) - Get Report
(GLD) saw some of the largest outflows across the ETF industry.
This could be the beginning of an interesting new trend in the ETF industry. I will certainly maintain a close eye on how it plays out.
iPath Dow Jones UBS Natural Gas Total Return Subindex ETN
(GAZ) - Get Report
Despite their steep tumble, investors continue to turn to futures-based natural gas ETFs in an attempt to take advantage of low prices. The strong demand has wreaked havoc on the GAZ, leading the fund to develop a substantial premium, indicated by the disconnection see between the fund and its underlying assets.
Although I would advise investors to avoid buying GAZ, it may be interesting to watch its performance against fellow futures-based fund,
United States Natural Gas Fund
(UNG) - Get Report
.
Investors looking for a more stable opportunity to play natural gas should turn to the
First Trust ISE Revere Natural Gas Index Fund
(FCG) - Get Report
. Because it tracks equities rather than futures, it does not risk running up a substantial premium. This will ensure that it stays in line with its underlying index.
Written by Don Dion in Williamstown, Mass.
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At the time of publication, Dion Money Management was long iShares Gold Trust.
Don Dion is president and founder of
, a fee-based investment advisory firm to affluent individuals, families and nonprofit organizations, where he is responsible for setting investment policy, creating custom portfolios and overseeing the performance of client accounts. Founded in 1996 and based in Williamstown, Mass., Dion Money Management manages assets for clients in 49 states and 11 countries. Dion is a licensed attorney in Massachusetts and Maine and has more than 25 years' experience working in the financial markets, having founded and run two publicly traded companies before establishing Dion Money Management.
Dion also is publisher of the Fidelity Independent Adviser family of newsletters, which provides to a broad range of investors his commentary on the financial markets, with a specific emphasis on mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. With more than 100,000 subscribers in the U.S. and 29 other countries, Fidelity Independent Adviser publishes six monthly newsletters and three weekly newsletters. Its flagship publication, Fidelity Independent Adviser, has been published monthly for 11 years and reaches 40,000 subscribers.
