Regaining Record Highs

Monday, August 17, 2020 - The S&P 500 has climbed nearly all the way out of its COVID-19 slump, finishing the week within half a percent of its February 19^th record high. Meanwhile, for the first time since March, initial weekly jobless claims fell below 1 million - but storm clouds linger.

Washington remains deadlocked over another round of coronavirus stimulus. Loose monetary policy has some investors fearing the formation of another bubble. COVID-19 continues to ravage the nation, infecting more than 50,000 people daily, with a death toll that remains above 1,000 people per day, threatening fledgling attempts to reopen the U.S. economy.

For the week, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.1%.

Equity Exposure Report: COVID-19 has forced millions of people to transform their homes into offices. This week, we’ll learn more about which big box retailers capitalized, as Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart and Target are all due to release earnings reports. These are the ETFs weighted most heavily with Home Depot stock: Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY), VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH), iShares U.S. Consumer Services ETF (IYC), iShares Evolved U.S. Discretionary Spending ETF (IEDI), and Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR).

ETFG Quant Movers - The ETFs that had the largest weekly change in their respective, overall ETFG Quant ratings.

ETFG Quant Winners: This week, we highlight the biggest increases in the ETFG Quant Behavioral model. The top 5 Behavioral gainers were: Innovator IBD ETF Leaders ETF (LDRS), JPMorgan Long/Short ETF (JPLS), Xtrackers FTSE Developed ex US Comprehensive Factor ETF (DEEF), AdvisorShares Vice ETF (ACT), and SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI).

ETFG Quant Losers: The biggest decreases in the ETFG Quant Behavioral model this week were charted by: Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Large Company Index ETF (FNDE), iShares Evolved U.S. Technology ETF (IETC), VanEck Vectors Coal ETF (KOL), Invesco FTSE RAFI Developed Markets ex-U.S. ETF (PXF), and SPDR Solactive Germany ETF (ZDEU).

ETFG Weekly Select List: The five most highly rated ETFs per Sector, Geographic Region and Strategy as ranked by the ETFG Quant model.

This week, we focus on Large Cap ETFs, which were led by: Invesco S&P 500 High Beta ETF (SPHB), Forensic Accounting Long-Short ETF (FLAG), ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (SDOG), Invesco Russell Top 200 Pure Growth ETF (PXLG), and ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF (NOBL).

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