Global markets have been impacted this week due to the outbreak of a coronavirus in China ahead of the Lunar New Year. Currently, the World Health Organization is setting out to determine whether this fast-spreading virus is a global health concern. "Today, these was an excellent discussion during the committee meeting, but it was also clear that to proceed we need more information," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebryesus stated regarding the emergency committee's meeting.
Here are some ETFs that can be impacted by the continued spread of the virus:
Chinese Market: Funds related to China's market and other country-related ETFs have already been impacted by the coronavirus. These funds include iShares MSCI China ETF (NASDAQ: MCHI), SPDR S&P China ETF (NYSE: GXC) and Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (NYSE: ASHR). As the outbreak spreads, further economic disruption can occur to the Chinese domestic market, which is the second largest economy in the world.
Travel: As global concerns surrounding an outbreak rise, the travel market is impacted greatly. U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE: JETS), whose component companies include Untied Airline Holdings (NASDAQ: UAL), American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL), and Delta Air lines (NYSE: DAL), as well as various world aerospace companies, will continue to be negatively impacted by restricted or consumer undesired travel. Hotels also go hand in hand with travel, with funds like VanEck Vectors Gaming ETF (NASDAQ: BJK), who have large stake exposer in both the U.S. and China, and Invesco Dynamic Leisure an Entertainment ETF (NASDAQ: PEJ) seeing negative performance.
Materials: Since the continued outbreak could affect global trade, materials may take a hit if the WHO declares the virus a global threat. China is a large consumer of both Copper and Steel, making VanEck Vector Steel ETF (NASDAQ: SLX) and Global X Copper Miners ETF (NASDAQ: UTX) two funds that will see negative impact as the virus spreads.
Healthcare: SPDR Health Care Equipment ETF (NYSE: XHE), Health Care Select Sector SPR Fund (NYSE: XLV), VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF (NASDAQ: PPH) and Global X MSCI China Health Care ETF (NASDAQ: CHIH) seem to be some of the only globally focused funds that may experience greater returns due to the growing number of those infected with the virus.
U.S. Economic Trends:
The S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) had a rocky start this week, but has made a recent comeback as the trust attempts to pare its losses as the market heads into Friday. On the other hand, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ), which follows the performance of the Nasdaq-100, has had a better trading week due to the recent rallies from various component companies on Wednesday.
Due to stellar U.S. homebuilding reports from December, launching the market to a 13-year high, a few ETFs that focus on housing are posed to have greater investor returns. This sector has strong consumer sentiment and spending, so it is less of a risky trade in the current domestic economy. A fund that has had outstanding performance recently is iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (NASDAQ: ITB).