A Look Ahead: Next Week's ETFs to Watch (ASEA, QQQ)

It was an excellent week for U.S. equities. Slowing growth in the world's largest economy stoked speculation about central bank easing, and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said he would do everything in his power to save the beleaguered euro. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce said that U.S. GDP rose just 1.5 percent in the second quarter, down from growth of 2 percent in the first quarter and the slowest growth rate since the third quarter of 2011. With every major economic data point that is mediocre or bad, talk of the Federal Reserve engaging in additional monetary easing increases. Despite concerning economic data points and an array of disappointing earnings reports from some of the more marquee names in American business, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose to their highest points since May. Both major indexes have advanced for three consecutive weeks. With that, here is some weekend reading in the form of next week's ETFs to watch. PowerShares QQQ QQQ: The PowerShares QQQ, also known as the Nasdaq 100 ETF, deserves a lot credit. Amid a myriad of weak earnings reports from major tech firms starting with Apple AAPL and finishing with Amazon AMZN, this ETF should have been clobbered this week. It was not. In fact, QQQ gained almost one percent. QQQ traded as high as $64.99 on Friday, indicating that psychological resistance is firm at $65. Should that number fall next week, QQQ could have upside to the $67-$68 area. iShares S&P Global Energy Index Fund IXC: The iShares S&P Global Energy Index Fund is worth a look next week for a couple of reasons. First, some European oil majors including BP BP and Eni E report earnings. Second, IXC is coming of a solid 1.6 percent weekly gain that helped the ETF break through some major technical resistance and peek above its 200-day moving average for the first time since April. Market Vectors Unconventional Oil & Gas ETF FRAK: This ETF is another oil play, despite the fact that West Texas Intermediate futures did a whole lot of nothing this week. Should the broader market continue its climb higher, it is unlikely that energy stocks and ETFs will get left out of the equation. Beyond that factor, Anadarko Petroleum APC and Devon Energy DVN, which combine for over 14 percent of FRAK's weight, both report earnings next week. Global X FTSE ASEAN 40 ETF ASEA: Emerging markets ('EM') ETFs were not left out of the fun this week as broad-based strength moved across most of the EM complex. The Global X FTSE ASEAN 40 ETF got in on the act with a 2 percent gain that helped move the ETF past some stiff resistance. Remember that Singapore - which is not an emerging market - accounts for the bulk of ASEA's country weight, but the other countries in the ETF should not be overlooked. Indonesian equities are showing signs of life while Malaysia is drawing praise from noteworthy investors. Should investors start believing emerging markets ETFs have more upside, ASEA stands to be a stealth beneficiary of that scenario.