Social Media, Treasury Bond, And Silver ETFs To Watch This Week

The stock market ran into a rough patch last week as deflating energy prices and weakening junk bonds cast a dark cloud over the major indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA fell particularly hard on Friday and is now 3.63 percent off its all-time closing high.

The week ahead features a robust economic calendar that will include: November CPI, housing data, and the monthly FOMC statement. These events certainly have the potential to move stocks, bonds, and commodities over the next five trading sessions.

Here are the key ETFs to watch for the week of Monday, December 15:

Global X Social Media ETF SOCL

Social media stocks were one of the bright spots in last week’s market drubbing and SOCL proved to hold up well considering the effects on other sectors. This ETF focuses on 35 global companies engaged in social networking, file sharing, or other media applications.

Top holdings in SOCL include Facebook Inc and LinkedIn Corp, which both moved marginally higher last week and continue to show strong relative momentum. This technology-based industry group may be showing early indications of a year-end rally taking shape.

iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT

Treasuries made new year-to-date highs last week after stock market volatility forced investors to take shelter in long-duration bonds. TLT has now gained 24 percent this year after many economists predicted that 2014 would be negative for bonds on the back of rising interest rates.

The FOMC statement this week has the potential to play a role in the future direction of interest rates, and subsequently treasury prices as well. TLT will be a key indicator to watch for signals of risk-taking behavior through the remainder of 2014.

iShares Silver Trust SLV

Silver prices have been crushed this year as a rising U.S. dollar and tepid inflationary statistics have pressured commodities. SLV tracks the spot price of silver bullion on a daily basis and has started to show recent signs of strength despite its multi-year downtrend.

This ETF just recently broke back above its 50-day moving average and may be ripe for a counter trend rally with investors focused heavily on the energy markets right now.