U.S. markets have traded considerably well for the week, with the S&P 500 Index dishing out fresh record closing highs throughout the week as the economy continues its expansion. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, the exchange traded fund that tracks the index, increasing almost 1% this week. The Nasdaq Composite Index has also posted new record closings this week. The Invesco QQQ Trust, which tracks the Nasdaq, gained +0.83% in returns this week. The Dow Jones also continues to climb, with the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust reading +1.04% returns for the week.
For sector ETFs, growth and returns this week are more of a mixed bag although market indexes have posted expansion. Energy (XLE) has been showing poor performance this week, with returns dropping over -1%. Energy has been underperforming largely due to the drop in oil prices. Financials (XLF) have also been underperforming this week, with weekly returns sliding -0.30%.
Utilities (XLU) has been rocketing upward recently, with the ETF posting a weekly return near 2% and growing. The ETF has been increased by the growth from bearish stocks like PG&E. Health Care (XLV) also soared, with the ETF's weekly return almost at 3%. This sector has been increasing steadily during this Q3 earnings season. Industrials (XLI) have also posted a gaining week, with the weeks return almost at +0.70% and closing with a record high on Friday. Technology (XLK) continues to be a powerhouse, with the ETF also posting a new high on Friday and a weekly return of +1.30%. Consumer Staples (XLP) also posted high returns of almost +1% and Consumer Discretionary (XLY) edged out a slight weekly return of 0.02%.. Retail earnings have been on the positive side recently, and increased trade optimism have boosted these ETFs.
For Commodity ETFs, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) has had a mixed week but ended posting a weekly return of 0.60%. Many analysts as posing that this is a great time to buy gold due to market uncertainty. United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) has taken a hit this week, with returns dropping almost -5%. United States Oil Fund (USO) on the other hand is trading positively to end the week with an investment return of +0.75%.
Finally, for Currency ETFs, the Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP) is sliding this week though it has had continued growth throughout the year. The Invesco CurrencyShares Euro Trust (FXE) saw gains to end the week with a return of almost 0.30%. This fund was lifted by the unexpected growth of Germany's economy for October. Lastly, the Invesco CurrencyShares British Pound (FXB) is still growing despite the uncertain political climate in the UK, with the fund posting returns of over 0.90%.