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XLB

Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF

5/24/2013, 4:31 AM ET

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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]
Monday, May 6, 7:27 AM The S&P 500 (SPY) is fairly valued, says Goldman, but opportunity lies in cyclicals (XLY, XLE, XLI, XLB) which are more undervalued vs. defensives (XLU, XLP, XLV, XTL) than at any time in the last 15 years. "Given the 4 P/E multiple point head start, even a slight valuation normalization should translate into outperformance of cyclicals over defensives during the next 12 months." 1 Comment
Friday, May 3, 8:00 AM "We don't want to sell in May and we continue to prefer cyclicals (XLY, XLI, XLB, XLE) ," says JPMorgan's Tom Lee, fully returned to his normal bullish stance. He notes client positioning is "dramatically different" from the heavily long stance of the last 3 years at this time. More, the downturn in gasoline prices could ad 50 bps to GDP in Q2, and the rally in high-yield suggests the economy is set to get stronger. 1 Comment
Friday, April 26, 10:37 AM This week has seen a nice pickup in battered cyclical sectors, as the materials sector (XLB), the year’s second-worst performing group, began today as the week’s top gainer, rising 4.5%. Next was energy (XLE), the year’s third-weakest, up 3.2%. MKM Partners thinks it means the recent gains may morph into sustained momentum, and likes adding June calls in XLB and the oil service ETF (OIH). 1 Comment [Energy]
Friday, April 26, 8:34 AM The beginning of a bigger move? Two of the year's three strongest performing sectors - healthcare (XLV) and consumer staples (XLP) - are down on the week as the three weakest sectors - energy (XLE), materials (XLB), and tech (XLK) - post gains of 3%-4.5%. 2 Comments
Wednesday, April 24, 12:44 PM Stocks take more of a negative tone at midday, the DJIA (DIA) -0.3%, led by 5% declines in both AT&T and Procter & Gamble. Also notably in the red is the healthcare (XLV -1.2%) sector, but financials (XLF +0.5%), energy (XLE +1.4%), and materials (XLB +1.2%) are posting gains. The Nasdaq -0.4%, led by the aforementioned AT&T, Cisco, and Apple. 1 Comment
Tuesday, April 16, 11:29 AM Homebuilder stocks aren't taking much encouragement off the bigger number in Housing Starts today, as the underlying data doesn't appear to be strong enough to offset yesterday's drubbing: BZH -0.7%, TMHC -0.2%, HOV -0.2%, DHI +0.9%, KBH +0.5%, PHM +1.6%, LEN +0.9%, TOL +1%. Building materials suppliers on the other hand don't care what kind of homes are being built, and are having a much better day on the news: LII +2.3%, WSO +2%, SHW +3.3%, LPX +3.6%). Comment!
Tuesday, April 16, 9:25 AM There's not too many surprises in ETF action yesterday, with areas like the bond market (AGG), real estate (IYR), low volatility (SPLV), and pharmaceuticals (IHE) seeing big inflows, and small caps (IWM), energy (XLE), energy exploration (XOP), and materials (XLB) seeing a wave of cash exit. Comment!
Monday, April 15, 11:24 AM A 2.5% move up in Citigroup following earnings is allowing the banks (XLF) to tread water or even move higher in an otherwise bright red tape. Leading the S&P on the downside is the resources sector, XLE -2.9%, XLB -2.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) -0.7%. Comment! [Financials]
Friday, April 5, 3:03 PM An hour before the bell, stocks have pared back early losses, the S&P 500 -0.7%, the Nasdaq -0.9%. Getting the worst of it earlier in the week, the financials show a little relative strength, particularly AIG +2% (are traders sniffing out a buyback announcement?). Basic materials (XLB) sport some green as well, particularly independent oil and gas producers. 6 Comments
Wednesday, April 3, 2:11 PM Stocks are at session lows 2 hours before the bell, SPY -1.1%, QQQ -1%. Most sectors are lit up bright red, but financials - BAC -3.2%, JPM -2.7%, C -3.3% - lead the way down. Energy (XLE -2%) and resource stocks (XLB -1.3%) tumble along with commodity prices. Port in a storm, Apple gains 0.3%. Comment!
Tuesday, April 2, 1:22 PM Already the best sector YTD, Healthcare widens its lead even further thanks to hikes in Medicaid Advantage rates. The XLV's 17.1% gain is more than 200 bps greater than 2nd place Consumer Staples (XLP), and about 700 bps better than SPY. Getting a relative drubbing are Materials (XLB) and Tech (XLK) - each up less than 4%. Comment!
Wednesday, March 27, 3:07 PM Updating its ETF matrix, Bespoke finds all the major U.S. index ETFs up about 10% YTD, with the leading sectors health care (XLV) and consumer staples (XLP) - each up more than 13%. Dragging are telecom (IYZ), materials (XLB), and tech (XLK). About all country ETFs are in the red, with the exceptions of Japan (EWJ) and Mexico (EWW). Leading everything is natural gas (UNG), up 17.7%. Comment!
Friday, March 15, 10:14 AM Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) announces quarterly distribution of $0.1641. 30-day SEC yield of 2.22% (as of 03/14/2013). For shareholders of record Mar. 19. Payable Mar. 25. Ex-div date Mar. 15. Comment! [Dividends]
Monday, March 4, 2:09 PM Caterpillar (CAT -2.2%) is the Dow's worst performer today amid renewed concerns about economic growth in China. As China looks to curb rising home prices, the likely result would be lower demand for basic materials. The impact is hitting heavy equipment manufacturers such as Joy Global (JOY -3.9%), diversified miners including Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF -6%), and steelmakers (SLX -2.2%). Comment! [Global & FX, On the Move]
Thursday, February 21, 10:52 AM Strong performance in the financial sector (XLF) since last summer has been almost completely concentrated in the big caps, says Bespoke, but small and mid-cap financials have begun to show relative life over the past couple of weeks. Another strong sector - materials (XLB) - has been led by the smaller stocks, but everything has fallen off a cliff recently. Comment!