ETF Outlook for the Week of December 23, 2013

ETF Outlook for the Week of December 23, 2013

First and foremost, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Week to everyone. Enjoy the family time, but do not forget the market is only closed one day (Wednesday) and money is always on the move.

RevenueShares Large Cap ETF (NYSE: RWL)

The ETF that concentrates on the large cap asset class and allocates its portfolio based on revenue hit a new all-time high last week. The news this past weekend out of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about the U.S. economy picking up as the business climate becomes more certain in 2014 should only help the ETF’s performance. A stronger U.S. economy will be linked to increasing revenue for corporations and the large cap names will be among the winners.

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction ETF (NYSE: ITB)

New home sales come out Tuesday morning and the numbers are expected to remain robust as the housing market continues to rebound. ITB is in an interesting spot, the ETF closed out last week at the best level in several month. The ETF is facing tough resistance at the $23.75, where it failed to breakthrough three prior times since July. If ITB can close above $24.00 this week it would be a major breakout and should be enough to send the ETF to the next resistance level at $26.50.

iShares MSCI Thailand Investable Market ETF (NYSE: THD)

The protests in Thailand continue as the people push for the Prime Minister to step down from his office. The unrest in the country even spread around the globe as Thai citizens set up mini protests against the current PM. The country’s stock market has not reacted well to the protests and THD is currently hitting a multi-month low. For the year, THD is down 16 percent and until the country and entire region begins to stabilize the risk of investing in THD is too high.

SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT)

The consumer confidence numbers come out Monday morning and will be a good indicator as to the health of the holiday shopper. So far the retail stocks have lagged the overall market during the holiday season, but a recent rally off support has XRT looking strong. Of the several retail ETFs, XRT is the most diverse and the best ETF to gain exposure to the overall retail sector. After hitting support last week at $85, the ETF has been rallying and it could have its eyes set on the all-time high near $89 in the coming week.