Greece, Financial And Extended Market ETFs To Watch This Week
The major indices managed to finish in the green last week despite striking a somber note on Friday. Now the markets will open trading on Monday with the onus on the bulls to extend the recent move higher.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) is within striking distance of all-time highs, yet traders will likely be on edge this week as we near the end of the quarter.
Key economic events to watch will include: first quarter gross domestic product, May consumer spending data, and the latest consumer sentiment index.
Here are the key ETFs to watch for the week of June 22:
Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (NYSE:GREK)
Greece headlines continue to pervade the thoughts of investors and the week ahead promises to be no different. The embattled country faces several key debt deadlines and ongoing negotiations will surely color trading in global markets.
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GREK tracks the 20 largest and most liquid stocks on the Athens Stock Exchange. Despite volatility all year, this ETF has continued to accumulate new assets at a breakneck pace. A last-minute deal to save Greece may be what GREK needs to rebound or risk breaking below its April lows.
Financial Select Sector SDPR (NYSE:XLF)
Financial stocks were one of the weaker sectors of the market last week and experienced heavy selling on Friday. XLF tracks 89 large-cap bank, brokerage, insurance and other financial institutions. This ETF has $19.5 billion in total assets and charges an expense ratio of 0.15 percent.
The financial stocks that make up XLF are expected to perform well in the face of rising interest rates and tightening Federal Reserve policy. Nevertheless, this ETF has plodded along to unimpressive gains year-to-date.
XLF will be a key sector of the market to watch in the coming week to determine if the recent weakness can be turned around.
Vanguard Extended Market ETF (NYSE:VXF)
VXF is composed of 3,300 small- and mid-cap stocks outside of the traditional S&P 500 Index. Top holdings in this market cap weighted ETF include well-known names such as Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD).
This ETF recently broke out above a three-month consolidation range to new all-time highs and continues to show strong relative momentum versus its large-cap peers. VXF has gained 7.4 percent so far this year and illustrates the overall health of smaller company stocks in the market.
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