Tag Archives: feeds

Bank ETFs Surge: Will The Momentum Last?

Finally, the battered banking stocks found reasons to turn around. As soon as the April Fed minutes hinted at a June rate hike possibility, banking, along with many other financial stocks, rallied on May 18. The going was tough for bank stocks and ETFs for quite some time, mainly due to the twin attacks of a delay in any further Fed rate hike after a liftoff in December and the energy sector slump. But things are now falling in space for this woebegone sector. Hawkish Tone in Fed Minutes Citing plenty of positive drivers in the market, including a healing labor market, a bullish inflation outlook, strong retail, consumer sentiment and housing data, the Fed minutes brought back the sooner-than-expected rate hike talks on the table. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note jumped 11 bps to 1.87% on May 18, while the yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury note rose 8 bps to 0.90%. This steepening of the yield curve was a tailwind for banking stocks, as these improve banks’ net interest margins. This is because the interest rates on deposits are usually tied to short-term rates, while loans are often tied to long-term rates. Revival in Oil Prices U.S. banks have significant exposure to the long-beleaguered energy sector, where chances of credit default are higher. In February, the S&P cut its outlook on several regional banks with substantial energy sector exposure, citing a likely increase in non-performing assets. Among the biggies, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) reported around $42 billion oil and gas credit in February. The situation was the same for JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM ), whose energy loan accounts for 57% of the investment-grade paper . JPMorgan’s $44 billion energy sector exposure was a cause for concern given the below-$30-oil-per-barrel mark a few months back. However, those days of crisis seem to have passed, with oil prices showing an impressive rally lately and hovering around a seven-month high on falling supplies and the possibility of rising demand. Political imbalance in countries like Nigeria and Venezuela and expected moderation in the shale boom should put a brake in the supply glut. This increased hopes for a revival in the energy sector, which, in turn, is likely to benefit the banking sector too. JPMorgan Ups Dividend This leading financial firm announced a dividend hike on May 17, 2016, after the market closed. The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.48 per share, representing a more than 9% rise over the prior payout. Per analysts , the strength in its consumer businesses helped the bank to opt for this. JPM shares jumped about 3.9% in the key trading session of May 18, benefitting the ETFs that invest heavily in the company. Notably, JPMorgan’s first-quarter 2016 earnings of $1.35 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.26. Net revenue of $24.1 billion was also ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $23.9 billion. Needless to mention, this announcement uplifted the big banks’ financial image. All these showered ample gains in banking stocks on May 18. Below, we highlight a few (see all Financial ETFs here ): SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSEARCA: KRE ) – Up 4.24% SPDR S&P Bank ETF (NYSEARCA: KBE ) – Up 4.15% PowerShares KBW Regional Banking Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: KBWR ) – Up 4.14% First Trust Nasdaq ABA Community Bank ETF (NASDAQ: QABA ) – Up 3.87% PowerShares KBW Bank Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: KBWB ) – Up 3.76% iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (NYSEARCA: IAT ) – Up 3.73% Apart from banking sector ETFs, other financial ETFs also shined on May 18. Among the lot, the iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers ETF (NYSEARCA: IAI ), up 3.11%,deserves a special mention. Notably, this ETF is also a beneficiary of the rising rate environment. Going Forward Since all the drivers are likely to remain in place for some time, the road ahead for banking ETFs should not be edgy. Even if the Fed does not act in June, it should act by September. Moreover, after two years of struggle, tension in the oil patch is likely to take a breather, as supply-demand dynamics look favorable for the near term. However, if bond yields decline on risk-off trade sentiments emanated from global growth issues, financial ETFs might come under pressure. Original Post

For Investment Success, Keep It Simple

By Carl Delfeld Investing can seem incredibly complicated and intimidating, especially for the novice. There are thousands of stocks and almost as many funds to choose from, not to mention stock markets that always seem volatile and uncertain. Even tougher is deciding when and how to sell a stock or fund to lock in gains or limit losses. It helps to follow a simple strategy to help make these decisions pretty much automatically. Here are four principles that will help you get started. #1: Build a Diversified Core Portfolio Leonardo da Vinci was right when he said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” And legendary global investor Sir John Templeton really nailed it with his sage advice, “Diversify. In stocks and bonds, as in much else, there is safety in numbers.” For your core portfolio, I suggest going with low-cost, tax-efficient exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as building blocks. As I describe in my book, Think Global, Grow Rich , this core portfolio has capital preservation as its primary goal and capital appreciation as a secondary goal. It’s a well-diversified portfolio with allocations to fixed income, broad U.S. equity markets, exposure to high-quality international markets, income- and dividend-oriented ETFs, gold, and even some exposure to other strong currencies – in case the dollar falls off its perch. #2: Set Aside Ample Cash After setting up a core portfolio, you should set aside a comfortable cash position of at least six months’ worth of living expenses. This is where I differ from many other advisors who want their clients to always be fully invested. Another reason to keep a lot of cash in your brokerage account is to be able to take advantage of markets and stocks when they’re on sale. You want to have the ability to move quickly and not have to figure out which stocks to sell in a hurry. #3: Seek Capital Gains With Your Explore Portfolio. Any capital you have left can go to your “explore” portfolio with the full recognition that seeking capital appreciation means higher risk and volatility. You still need some diversification in this portfolio, but you should also feel free to look at aggressive asset classes like emerging markets, commodities, sector ETFs, and individual stock ideas. One great way to gain exposure to international markets is through country-specific ETFs. With a click of the mouse, you can invest in 32 countries, such as Singapore, Switzerland, or Mexico, through the iShares MSCI Singapore ETF (NYSEARCA: EWS ), the iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF (NYSEARCA: EWL ), and the iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF (NYSEARCA: EWW ), respectively. Using country ETFs also gives you a hedge on the U.S. dollar weakening since. For example, when you buy the Switzerland ETF, you also gain exposure to the Swiss franc. Pick countries that are out of favor, and with time, you’ll enjoy solid gains. For individual stocks, stick to investing only in companies you understand. Invest only in what you know. Don’t just accept someone else’s opinion, do some independent homework on your own. And try to avoid complicated stories, because managing these companies is difficult and there are just too many things that can go wrong. #4: Capture Gains and Limit Losses We’ve all been there. Nothing is more painful than picking a great stock and watching it peak and then fall back to earth. Don’t ride the roller coaster with your investments. If you’re fortunate enough to have a stock or fund double in value, immediately sell half of your position to protect profits. And whenever you buy a stock, it’s smart to put in place a 20% trailing stop loss. This means you have an automatic exit if your stock falls 20% from its high. This is important, because it takes emotion out of the equation and protects your hard-earned gains, or limits your losses, so you can fight another day. It’s not a perfect approach, and sometimes that darn stock will rebound just after your stop loss strategy tells you to sell it. This is irritating, but much less painful than watching all your gains evaporate day after day, right before your eyes. Follow these four simple rules, and you’ll be way ahead of the crowd. Original Post

Oil Rally Likely To Continue: ETFs And Stocks To Watch

Oil prices have shown an impressive rally over the past week on outages and supply disruptions around the world, suggesting that the global oil market might be rebalancing faster than expected. In addition, Goldman (NYSE: GS ), one of the most bearish forecasters, gave an added boost by suddenly turning bullish on the commodity. In fact, oil prices hit a seven-month high, with crude rising to over $48.50 per barrel and Brent currently hovering near $50 per barrel. Improving Fundamentals The oil market seems to be rebalancing, with shrinking supply and rising demand. This is especially true as the massive wildfire that broke last week in Fort McMurray, Alberta, is now at the doorstep of the oil-sands mines. This resulted in the evacuation of thousands of workers and cut Canadian oil production by at least 1 million barrels a day. Clearly, this marks a massive reduction given that Canada is the world’s fifth-largest oil producer, with an average output of 4.4 million barrels of oil per day. Additionally, militant attacks and the threat of nationwide strike pushed Nigeria’s oil output to a 20-year low of 1.4 million barrels per day. Political instability and economic meltdown in Venezuela also contributed to fears of oil supply disruption. Further, oil production in China fell 5.6% year over year in April and 2.7% in the first four months of 2016, while the U.S. saw a year-over-year decline of 0.7 million barrels a day last month. Moreover, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects oil production from the seven shale regions – Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Marcellus, Niobrara, Permian and Utica – to fall by 113,000 barrels a day to 4.96 million barrels a day in June from May. The agency also predicts global demand to grow on higher Chinese and Indian consumption. It expects demand to rise by 1.4 million barrels per day for this year and 1.5 million barrels per day for the next, compared to the earlier projections of 0.3 million barrels per day and 0.2 million barrels per day, respectively. Goldman Turns Bullish The unexpected supply disruption of as much as 3.75 million barrels a day and sustained demand has duly prompted Goldman to turn bullish on oil. The investment bank now believes that the two-year big oil supply glut has taken a “sudden halt” and turned to a deficit. It said “the oil market has shifted from nearing storage saturation to being in deficit much earlier than expected.” As a result, Goldman raised the price target for crude oil to $45 per barrel for the second quarter and $50 per barrel for the second half from $35 per barrel and $45 per barrel, respectively, predicted in March. However, the analyst cautioned that the market would return to surplus in the first half of 2017 on increased exploration and production activity. Diminishing “Contango” Impact The spread between the near-term futures contracts and the later-dated contracts has reduced, thereby giving a boost to oil prices. In particular, the spread between the oil futures contracts expiring later this year and similar contracts expiring in late 2018 narrowed to $1.21 from $8 in December 2015 . This reduced contango suggests that the supply glut may be falling, after years of overproduction. If this trend continues to persist going into the peak refining season, the oil market may move into a state of backwardation, where later-dated contracts are cheaper than near-term contracts. This is bullish for the commodity. ETFs to Tap While there are several ETFs to play the recent rally in oil prices, we have highlighted three funds each from different zones that are the biggest beneficiaries from this trend. Oil Futures ETFs – United States Oil ETF (NYSEARCA: USO ): This is the most popular and liquid ETF in the oil space, with AUM of $3.9 billion and average daily volume of more than 42 million shares. The fund seeks to match the performance of the spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI or U.S. crude). The ETF has 0.45% in expense ratio and gained 8.4% over the past five trading days. Energy ETFs – PowerShares S&P SmallCap Energy Portfolio ETF (NASDAQ: PSCE ): This fund offers exposure to the energy sector of the U.S. small cap segment by tracking the S&P Small Cap 600 Capped Energy Index. Holding 32 securities in its basket, it is highly concentrated on the top three firms with a combined 37.1% share, while other firms hold less than 6.6% of total assets. The fund is less popular and less liquid, with AUM of $52.4 million and average daily volume of about 38,000 shares. The expense ratio came in at 0.29%. PSCE was up about 5% in the same time period (see all the energy ETFs here ). Leveraged Oil ETFs – VelocityShares 3x Long Crude Oil ETN (NYSEARCA: UWTI ): This is the popular leveraged fund targeting the energy segment of the commodity market through WTI crude oil futures contracts. It seeks to deliver thrice the returns of the S&P GSCI Crude Oil Index Excess Return and has amassed over $1 billion in its asset base. It trades in heavy volumes of 12.8 million shares a day, though it charges a higher fee of 1.35% per year. UWTI surged 26.4% over the past five trading sessions. Stocks to Tap We have chosen three stocks using our Zacks stock screener that have a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) with a VGM Style Score of “A” or “B”. The combination of these two offers the best upside potential. Murphy USA, Inc. (NYSE: MUSA ): This Zacks Rank #1 company is a retailer of gasoline products and convenience store merchandise primarily in the United States. It saw positive earnings estimate revision of 21 cents for fiscal 2016 over the past 60 days and has an expected growth rate of 42.12%. The stock has a VGM Style Score of “A”. Enbridge, Inc. (NYSE: ENB ): This Zacks Rank #2 company with a VGM Style Score of “B” is a leader in energy transportation and distribution in North America and internationally. It saw positive earnings estimate revision of 18 cents over the past two months and has an expected growth rate of 8.69% for this year. McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR ): This Zacks Rank #1 company is a leading provider of integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation services for offshore and subsea field developments worldwide. It saw an estimate revision to 4 cents from a loss of 3 cents over the past 60 days. It has a VGM Style Score of “B”. Contrarian View While we expect the oil price rally to continue in the near term, many market experts believe the rise is temporary and that the market will again be flooded with more oil once the problem of outages is resolved. Further, Saudi Arabia and Iran are keen on increasing their output. Original Post