U.S. Dollar, Financial And Russia ETFs To Watch This Week

The markets once again notched a marginal new all-time high last week as economic data continued to signal strong momentum. A better-than-expected jobs report on Friday lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average within sight of the 18,000 level, which it has the potential to achieve before the year is over.

The week ahead features a light economic calendar that will feature November retail sales, producer price index and consumer sentiment data.

Here are the key ETFs to watch for the week of Monday, December 8:

PowerShares U.S. Dollar Index Bullish UUP

The strong trend of the U.S. dollar vs. rival foreign currencies has been one of the prominent themes of the market this year. UUP measures the U.S. dollar compared to the euro, yen and other developed nations.

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On Friday, this ETF made a new year-to-date high and is sitting on gains of more than 10 percent in 2014. The continued strength in the dollar has the potential to impact global commodity prices as well as profits from multi-nations corporations. This ETF is one indicator that should be on every investors’ radar.

Financial Select Sector SPDR XLF

The financial sector has sprung to life in recent weeks as investors look for alternative areas of value versus flagging energy stocks or high priced health care companies. Big banks such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup hit new year-to-date highs on Friday and have helped push XLF along the same course.

A mild uptick in interest rates and better-than-expected economic data has likely helped boost confidence in the financial companies that comprise this ETF. Further strength in XLF through the remainder of the year may be seen as a positive sign for the broader market.

Market Vectors Russia ETF RSX

The Russian economy has continued its slide behind plunging crude oil prices and currency woes. As a result, RSX hit a new year-to-date low on Friday and has now notched a loss of more than 35 percent in 2014.

RSX is the largest single-country Russia ETF that tracks 49 companies based in this eastern European nation. The persistent downtrend in this ETF has shown how volatile a year its been for countries that rely heavily on energy production for economic sustainability.