Japan: Weekly ETF and CEF Performance

Japanese ETFs trading in the U.S. recouped some of the prior week's losses, gaining a combined average 0.8%. Overall, the returns were not bad considering it was Golden Week.

The Nikkei 225 had a nice rally to start this week, gaining 1.6% to 17,669, for its highest close in a month.

However, the N225 is still about 3.5% off its 52-week and multi-year high of 18,300.39 (intra-day; it closed at 18,215.35) set on Feb. 26. (See chart below: 5/7)

The 10 Japanese ETFs (including 2 CEFs) trading in the U.S. gained a combined average 0.8% last week, as mentioned above, and they are up 1.5%, for the year.

Here's their combined average return over the past several weeks:

04/20 - 04/27: -1.7%
04/13 - 04/20: +0.6%
04/05 - 04/13: -0.9%
03/30 - 04/05: +0.7%
03/23 - 03/30: -2.1%
03/16 - 03/23: 3.1%
03/09 - 03/16: -1.9%
03/02 - 03/09: +2.0%

See the chart below for more details of last week's returns.

Click to enlarge chart

Disclosure: The author does not own shares of any funds mentioned in this article.

As I've said in the past, Vanguard's Pacific Stock ETF (VPL) continues to prove the benefits of being diversified, given its additional exposure to Australia [for instance, iShares Australia (EWA) is up nearly 19% ytd], Hong Kong [(EWH) about 7%)] and Singapore [(EWS) around 21%]. It posted the highest return last week, +1.6%, and is the best performing Japan ETF year-to-date, up 5.6%.

iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ), the most actively traded country-based ETF, rose only 0.3% last week and is up 1.5% on the year, but is lagging most Asian country ETFs and broader benchmarks.

The Japan Smaller Cap Fund (JOF), a closed-end fund, gained 1.2%, but has declined the most on the year, -5.5%, among the funds surveyed.

The Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ), also closed-end, was the only fund to have a negative weekly return, -0.3%, but it is up 2.5% for the year.

Lastly, WisdomTree's Japan SmallCap Dividend (DFJ) fund, while not being among the best performing last week up only 0.7%, is the second best performer year-to-date, +3.2%.

The yen continues to trade at an all-time low against the euro and is holding around 120 against the US$. See the chart below of the CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (FXY) ETF.

For your reference, here's a list of the 10 funds:

iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ)
iShares S&P/TOPIX 150 (ITF)
Japan Equity Fund, Inc. (JEQ)
Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund, Inc. (JOF)
SPDR Russell/Nomura Prime Japan (JPP)
SPDR Russell/Nomura SmallCap Japan (JSC)
Vanguard Pacific Stock (VPL)
WisdomTree JP High-Yielding Equity (DNL)
WisdomTree JP SmallCap Dividend (DFJ)
WisdomTree JP Total Dividend (DXJ)