Yahoo Finance ETF Asset Report for October: S&P 500 & Treasuries Top
After a downbeat September, October, too, remained depressed for Wall Street. High oil and gas prices, still-high inflation, and the Fed’s policy tightening spree, along with the resultant rise in bond yields, kept the market volatile.
The S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq have lost 2.8%, 1.5% and 3.9% in the past month (as of October 30, 2023) due to rising rate worries. U.S. benchmark treasury yield started the month at 4.69%, reached a high of 4.98% on Oct 19 and was at 4.88% on Oct 30. Apart from higher rates, there was heightened geopolitical crisis due to the war between Israel and the Gaza-based militant group Hamas. This has sent oil prices higher.
Meanwhile, the U.S. GDP data for Q3 came in upbeat. The United States witnessed substantial economic growth in the third quarter of 2023, with the real gross domestic product (GDP) growing at an annual rate of 4.9%, beating economists’ expectations of 4.7% (read: Consumer Spending Boosts U.S. Q3 GDP: ETFs to Buy).
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few ETF areas that fetched sizable assets and that saw huge outflows in the month of October.
S&P 500 ETFs Win
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV and Vanguard 500 Index Fund VOO amassed about $15.13 billion and $2.88 billion in October, respectively. Cheaper valuation probably lured investors to focus on the S&P 500 ETFs. Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF VTI also fetched about $2.04 billion in assets in the month (read: S&P 500 in Correction Zone: Time to Buy ETFs?).
Treasury ETFs Top Too
SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF BIL, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Index Fund VGIT and iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF SGOV have gathered assets worth $4.83 billion, $3.87 billion, $3.21 billion and $1.88 billion respectively, in the month. Investors should note that short-term treasury bond ETFs offer decent yields, which caused them to be investors’ darlings.
Energy Caught Attention
Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE hauled in about $1.89 billion in assets. The Israel-Gaza war and its perceived ripple effects in the Middle East occasionally sent oil prices soaring in October. This has probably boosted investors’ interest in energy ETFs like XLE.
Corporate Bonds Bleed
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF HYG, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund VCIT,Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund VCSH witnessed assets worth $3.0 billion, $2.55 billion and $1.84 billion, respectively, gushing out of the funds. Since safer treasuries are yielding handsomely, investors probably dumped riskier corporate bond ETFs.
Emerging Markets Out of Investors’ Favor
Emerging markets ETFs iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF EEM, iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF EMB shed assets worth $2.37 billion and $1.67 billion, respectively, in October. A surge in U.S. treasury bond yields caused investors less-interested in emerging markets products. The chances of high-for-longer interest rates in the United States (due to resilience in the economy and sticky inflation) kept the U.S. dollar steady in the month, which was another negative for the emerging markets bloc.
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iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT): ETF Research Reports
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG): ETF Research Reports
Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE): ETF Research Reports
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): ETF Research Reports
iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB): ETF Research Reports
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF (VGIT): ETF Research Reports
SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL): ETF Research Reports
iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV): ETF Research Reports
