iShares Asia Region ETFs Keep Climbing

iShares Asia region country-based ETFs traded higher across the board last week for the third consecutive week. iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 once again led all advancers, adding nearly 7% and increasing its year-to-date return to more than 60%.

iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (FXI) is the best performer ytd among the funds surveyed.

iPath ETN India (INP) gained 3.6%, up almost 39% ytd and S. Korea (EWY) +0.7%, up just under 38% ytd, are second and third-best.

Five other funds now have ytd returns above 30% including Hong Kong (EWH), Australia (EWA), Malaysia (EWM), Singapore (EWS) and Pacific ex-Japan (EPP).

Japan (EWJ) returned to positive territory for the year (+0.9%) after gaining over 4% on the week.

See the chart below for last week's results. There are two sets of returns for each ETF: the past week [light blue] and year-to-date [purple].

Note, the bars for the iShares S&P 500 index (IVV) are colored differently for comparative purposes.

Click to enlarge chart

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

In Monday (10/1) trading, every country benchmark index among those covered in this survey posted gains, with Shanghai, Hong Kong, India [BSE 30], and Singapore all renewing all-time highs.

Recommended reading: Is the Red Hot Korean ETF Still Cheap? • Capture Chindia With the First Trust Index Fund • Invest in Taiwan For a China Pure Play

Here is a list of the relevant ETFs and their tickers.

iShares Australia (EWA)
iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (FXI)
iShares Hong Kong (EWH)
iPath ETN MSCI India (INP)
iShares Japan (EWJ)
iShares Malaysia (EWM)
iShares Singapore (EWS)
iShares S. Korea (EWY)
iShares Taiwan (EWT)
iShares EAFE (EFA)
iShares Pacific ex-Japan (EPP)
iShares S&P 500 (IVV)