ETF Expert

It’s been nearly 8 months since we’ve seen a week where 100 point swings on the Dow became the norm. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) may not be picking up the volatile movement, but the daily trading range certainly is:

In a week that witnessed incredible earnings out of the likes of Apple and Microsoft, it stands to reason that these behemoths gave the SPDR Select Tech Sector (XLK) a 0.85% gain over 5 days. Cash-rich companies made bottom-line profits and top-line revenue look surprisingly easy.

Outside of tech, however, investors stuck to commodity strength. The DJ Commodity Index ETN (DJP) picked up roughly 2.2%.

Weakness could be felt in the more critical areas of economic recovery. Transports (IYT), for instance, were off as much as -5.5% these 5 days. Home Construction (ITB) trimming -2.7% and KBW Regional Banking (KRE) shedding -2.0% did little to persuade investors that real estate and lending will be getting on track soon.

In truth, one can say that there was an awful lot of profit-taking or Dow 10,000 price-triggered selling during this week. Few segments were able to garner investor enthusiasm beyond tech.

Nevertheless, one segment continues to defy the odds… and that is consumer discretionary spending. While the broader markets may have shed 1% in the week, Retail (XRT) and SPDR Consumer Discretionary (XLY) lost only -0.52% and -0.49% respectively. People have counted out the American consumer for more than a year now… and contrarian investors have made a mint!

If you’d like to learn more about ETF investing… then tune into “In the Money With Gary Gordon.” You can listen to the show “LIVE”, via podcast or on your iPod.

Tags | "daily trading range", "etf consumer", "etf retail", "etf segments", "etf technology", "etf volatility", "etfs sectors"