In this video ETF Securities Kris Walesby examines the key movements over the past week in the Australian ETF market.
This week’s highlights:
- The S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2% last week as gains in energy and resources sectors offset declines in financials. Offshore the S&P 500 dropped 0.5% with financials underperforming following the Fed’s 0.25% rate hike. BetaShares Global Banks ETF (Hedged) (BNKS) was the poorest performing ETF for the week, falling 2.8%. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.9% as Italy came under pressure. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.1%, hitting levels not seen since 1991. Technology-biased funds (HACK and NDQ) were the top performing equity funds for the week.
- The U.S. dollar strengthened last week following the Fed action; the Australian dollar fell 0.9% to US72.24c, the euro fell 1.2%, while the yen fell 1.0%.
- Commodities generally strengthened with the broad Bloomberg Commodities Index gaining 1.0%. WTI crude added 3.5% for the week, while gold ended the week lower at US$1,191/ounce. ETFS Physical Palladium (ETPMPD) was the top performing ETF for the week, followed by BetaShares Crude Oil Index ETF (OOO).
- The Australian ETF market saw inflows of $192m into and outflows of $38m from domestically domiciled funds last week. The largest inflows were into global equity ETFs (IHWL and IWLD) and fixed income ETFs (CRED and QPON). The largest outflows were from BetaShares Australian High Interest Cash ETF (AAA) and iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV).