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iShares MSCI Japan Index ETF

5/25/2013, 5:26 PM ET

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Friday, May 24, 4:42 PM The week's ETF movers - Gainers: GDXJ +6.5%. GAZ +6.3%. TAN +5.2%. UNG +4.4%. GDX +4.3%.
ETF Losers: WPS -6.1%. EWJ -5.7%. EWA -5.6%. EPI -5.6%. IYR -3.4%. Comment! [On the Move]
Friday, May 24, 2:19 PM Soaring volatility on the Nikkei isn't stopping investors from scooping up options "with something approaching glee," according to SIG's derivatives team (for the uninitiated, higher vols mean higher options prices). Most of the buying in the Japan ETF space is in the form of calls as dip buyers do what they've become accustomed to doing. Two popular ones, EWJ and DXJ are off nearly 10% since Wed. afternoon. 2 Comments [Global & FX]
Friday, May 24, 7:01 AM Stock index futures are shaky after an ugly session in Japan. Following its 7.3% plunge on Thursday, shares bounced nearly 4% as the yen resumed sinking. This soon reversed and shares plunged anew - dropping about 7% from their session high. The Nikkei eventually eked out a small gain as the yen (FXY) closed stronger again, dollar/yen falling 0.6% to ¥101.46. S&P 500 (SPY) futures -0.5%, Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) -0.5%. Japan: EWJ -2.6%, DXJ -3.7% premarket. Europe (FEZ) -0.5%. 2 Comments
Friday, May 24, 3:08 AM Japanese shares end +0.6% following a volatile session in which stocks rose and fell by over 3% vs the close yesterday, when they slumped 7.3%. The plunge on Thursday was "just a speed bump" given this year's strong returns, says U.S. fund manager Audrey Kaplan. Improving economic conditions "will support the market going forward." Hong Kong flat, China +0.6%, India +0.3%. 2 Comments [Global & FX, Top Stories, On the Move]
Thursday, May 23, 9:07 PM A rebound in Tokyo sees the Nikkei (EWJ) gaining 3% in early action following yesterday's 7% dive. A weaker yen (FXY) is helping, dollar/yen gaining 0.4% to ¥102.37. 7 Comments [Global & FX]
Thursday, May 23, 4:42 AM Even Japanese stocks are subject to the law of gravity (who knew?) as a confluence of factors sends the Nikkei (EWJ, DXJ) plunging 7.3% on the session (the swing from intraday high to low was ~9%). Yields on JGB 10s (JGBL) spiked above 1% at one point as an already skittish and volatile market was further rattled by what have generally been perceived as hawkish comments out of Ben Bernanke and other Fed officials on Wednesday. Yields pulled back in late trading. Compounding the problem for Japanese stocks was the yen (FXY), which has strengthened some 2% against the dollar to 101.16 most recently. (See also: China HSBC flash PMI shows contraction) 8 Comments [Global & FX, On the Move]
Monday, May 20, 11:54 AM Maybe the best synthetic way to play the dramatic changes in Japan (yen down, stocks up) is U.S. ETF provider WisdomTree (WETF). It's up 2.5% today - pushing its YTD gain to nearly 125% - as its Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) moves past $10B in AUM. The once-tiny fund has received about $7B in inflows this year and now threatens EWJ ($12.26B AUM) for dominance in the Japan ETF space. 2 Comments [Financials, On the Move]
Monday, May 20, 4:57 AM The Japanese economy is slowly improving, the government says, pointing to evidence that exports and factory output are beginning to show signs of life. The upgraded economic assessment is the first upbeat report in two months. Additionally, Reuters Tankan survey showed a sixth consecutive month of improving manufacturer sentiment in Japan, as exporters cheer the weak yen. The index printed at 7, the first positive read in more than a year. The country's Economics Minister says the stage is set for a "V-shaped recovery." The rosy outlook was enough to boost the Nikkei (EWJ, DXJ)) 1.47% on the session. Comment!
Friday, May 17, 4:49 PM The week's ETF movers - Gainers: TAN +9.6%. XLF +3.7%. UNG +3.4%. GAZ +3.2%. EWJ +3.0%.
ETF Losers: GDXJ -14.2%. GDX -11.5%. PSLV -7.3%. SLV -6.9%. SIVR -6.7%. 1 Comment [On the Move]
Thursday, May 16, 2:44 PM It's Japan and then there's everything else. Of the top 2013 gainers in assets among ETFs, the Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) and MSCI Japan Fund (EWJ) have brought in nearly $12B, about equal to the next 5 combined. If we're talking flows as a percentage of AUM, the rush into Japan funds is even more impressive. The low-volatility sector stands out as well with the USMV garnering $2.5B against a previous base of just $1.1B. Comment!
Thursday, May 16, 6:26 AM Unexpectedly weak capital spending marred an otherwise decent Japan GDP report, weighing on the Nikkei (EWJ, DXJ), which fell 0.39% but still held onto the 15,000 level. The yen (FXY) was firm against the dollar for most of session, trading around ¥102, but has since lost ground, falling 0.40% to ¥102.60. Comment!
Wednesday, May 15, 3:26 PM The Japanese bull market is too big of a deal to try and get cute, says Jeff Gundlach (video), advising not to try and time a market up 66% in 6 months. If QE is your reason for owning U.S. stocks, he says, why not pile into Japan (EWJ) where the asset purchase program is far larger? Maybe as leveraged as anything to the Japanese bull market is American ETF provider WisdomTree (WETF +3.5%), more than doubling this year as its hedged Japan equity fund (DXJ) reels in billions in assets. 4 Comments [Global & FX]
Wednesday, May 15, 7:32 AM The Nikkei (EWJ, DXJ) soared another 2.3% overnight to top 15K for the first time since 2007 as the yen (FXY) slid 0.3% to a new multi-year low of ¥102.65. Leading was Sony (SNE), up 10% following Dan Loeb's push for a breakup. Toyota (TM) paced the exporters with a 3.7% gain. JGBs (JGBL) were calm, the yield on the 10-year flat at 0.86%. 4 Comments [Global & FX, On the Move]
Tuesday, May 14, 10:42 AM "Contrarians should start buying emerging markets (EEM, DEM, VWO) and think about global energy (XLE) and material companies (XLB) and commodities (DBC)," says BAML's John Bilton, noting a "marked uptick" in concern about China (FXI, CAF) in his firm's latest fund manger survey. One-in-four now consider a Chinese hard landing as the biggest risk to their investment. Where respondents are not fearful? Japan (EWJ, DXJ). (previous) 4 Comments [Global & FX, Commodities]
Tuesday, May 14, 7:21 AM An early look at the BAML May fund manager survey shows hedge fund equity exposure (VTI) at the highest in 7 years, +45%. Commodity exposure (DBC) is a negative 29%. Cash is at 4.3%. Sectors: It's a record-low exposure to energy (XLE) at -17%. Japan (EWJ, DXJ) at +31% is the highest in 7 years. 1 Comment
Monday, May 13, 4:56 AM The yen (FXY) continues its slide , falling to a new four-and-a-half year low against the dollar, helping the Nikkei (NKY) post another triple-digit gain on the session, rising 1.2% to 14782, its highest level since January 2008. The weak yen comes on the heels of the G7's reportedly amicable meeting over the weekend, at which officials were generally supportive of the BOJ's policies and reiterated that Japan's goal is to fight deflation not engage in the targeting of exchange rates. 4 Comments [Global & FX]

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