AltaVista

It can be hard to be bullish on sectors when they are slumping: just look at the materials sector. It's one of the smallest sector weights in the S&P 500, but it is sporting one of the largest year-to-date losses. The Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLB) is lower by 5.7 percent, a...

With investors preferring higher beta, cyclical sectors this year, it is not surprising that some defensive groups are falling behind. For example, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLP) is up just 6.8 percent year to date while the S&P 500 is higher by 10.7 percent. Add to that,...

The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLF), widely viewed as one of this year's most disappointing sector exchange-traded funds, has recently shown signs of momentum. Over the past week, XLF, the largest ETF dedicated to the financial services sector, is higher by 4.2 percent. That could...

The exchange-traded funds industry keeps breaking its own assets under management records. For example, the global ETF industry had more than $3.9 trillion in combined assets under management at the end of the first quarter, up from the prior record of over $3.8 trillion set at the end of February...

The technology sector, the largest sector allocation in the S&P 500, will be delivering some big-name earnings reports this week. Typically, that could mean the potential for increased volatility for exchange-traded funds tracking the sector, including the Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSE:...

With the current bull market fast approaching its eighth anniversary, many market participants believe it is increasingly harder to find value in equities. Sure, energy and financial services are frequently mentioned as credible value destinations, but not many other sectors are considered...

There are still plenty of marquee reports to be delivered, but with the fourth-quarter earnings season progressing, some trends are becoming clear. Investors can use sector exchange-traded funds to play those trends. XLF In Focus For example, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLF), the...

Last year represented a tale of two views for utilities stocks and exchange-traded funds. ETFs such as the Utilities SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLU) burst out of the gates early in the year as investors favored defensive, low volatility, high dividend sectors. By virtue of its bond-like characteristics but...

It seems like only yesterday that utilities stocks and exchange-traded funds, such as the Utilities SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLU), were setting the market ablaze. Sure, XLU, the largest utilities ETF by assets, is still up 14.5 percent year-to-date, good for one of the better performances among the sector...

The energy sector is the seventh-largest sector weight in the S&P 500 at just under 7 percent. Despite that relatively diminutive status within the benchmark U.S. equity index, energy continues to be a drag on S&P 500 earnings. With second-quarter earnings season winding down, some analysts...

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) confirmed on Monday it reached an agreement to sell its Internet properties to Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) for $4.83 billion. Taking a look back at Yahoo's M&A opportunities, the going price for Yahoo's assets today could have been in the hundreds of...

Last year, the Consumer Staples Select Sect. SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLP) climbed 6.9 percent, which was good for the second-best performance among the sector SPDR exchange-traded funds. XLP, the largest consumer staples ETF, trailed only the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLY) last year....

No, that headline does not reference S&P 500 tracking exchange-traded funds, which, of course, hold plenty of the world's largest companies. Thanks to ballooning market values for some of the sector's biggest names coupled with declines in the financial services group, the technology...

The Technology SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLK), the largest exchange-traded fund tracking the largest sector weight in the S&P 500, is off nearly 2 percent over the past month. With the Federal Reserve inching closer to raising interest rates, investors should not shun XLK and rival technology ETFs....