FUTY News and Press, Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index From 04/11/22

Typically, we look at net new highs as a way to confirm moves in the broader market. At the high last Wednesday, over 90% of S&P 500’s new highs came from defensive sectors. In other words, defensives have been a notable pocket of strength recently. For further de...

The broader equity categories turned in negative results in Q1. U.S. large-cap stocks, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, held up the best at a decline of 4.6%. Bonds performed worse than many of the equity categories, despite typically being viewed as a safe haven investment. In t...

Does the yield curve inversion cause a recession or does it just provide a signal? Is the inversion only about expected future monetary policy? Do other factors also influence the shape of the curve, and if so, can we disentangle the various factors? There is a lot that we don’...

Wall Street has been on edge lately, with financial markets roiled by a host of factors: yield curve inversion, rising inflation, rate hikes, a possible recession and geopolitical tensions. In this environment, it’s no surprise that exchange traded funds focused on defensive stocks hav...

Inflation expectations have kept the Federal Reserve center stage as they commenced their interest rate rising cycle in March. The war in Ukraine and Omicron’s spread in China impacted inflation and supply chains differently, but both delay supply chain normalization. Regar...

Stock markets fell in the first quarter as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine destabilized the growth outlook, amplified concerns about rising interest rates and unleashed geopolitical risks. While the conflict has created many uncertainties, we believe the impact of persistent infla...

Follow the Money is a series of brief, information-rich posts that I will publish periodically but not on a fixed schedule. After rallying for 9 of the last 11 days, the S&P 500 went from down -13% to down just -3.4%. Growth has been hit hard by the slide in tech stocks this y...

Utilities are overvalued by about 20% to 30% depending on subsectors. Quality scores are good, but not high enough to justify such overvaluation. FUTY: almost an equivalent to XLU. 10 stocks cheaper than their peers in March. For further details see: FUTY: Utilities ...

XLU provides simple cap-weighted exposure to 29 S&P 500 Utilities stocks. It's the largest Utilities ETF with $13.45 billion in AUM, and the second cheapest with a 0.10% expense ratio. Figuring out the direction of utility stocks is a complex task. I'll highlight some factors I co...

Inflation and its implications for real economic growth are the main portfolio positioning consideration of the conflict in Ukraine. On the 8th of March, the U.S. sanctioned Russian energy imports, giving companies 45 days to comply. Higher commodity prices are not the only factor...