Best And Worst ETFs Of The Week Amid Slowing Corporate Profits

It was reported on Friday that fourth quarter gross domestic product expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate, missing consensus expectation of a 2.4 percent gain.  In addition, after-tax corporate profits declined 1.6 percent last quarter, which could signal the far reaching effects of a strong U.S. dollar on multi-national company’s profits.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell more than 2 percent this week as sellers retook control of the markets.  SPY is now back in the middle of a four month trading range that has proved to be difficult for investors to navigate.  The bellwether index has erased nearly all its gains for the year and may continue to showcase additional volatility next week as well. 

The following ETFs represent a sample of the best- and worst-performing funds over the last five trading sessions.

BEST: Crude Oil Futures

Crude oil prices pressed higher this week amid geo political risk in the Middle East.  The United States Oil Fund (USO) gained over 7 percent since last Friday and is now more than 10 percent off its March low. 

USO tracks the daily price movement of the West Texas Intermediate Light Sweet Crude Oil prices and is one of the most heavily traded ETFs in the commodity space. 

Despite continued builds in global supply, oil prices appear to be experiencing a modest bounce that has many questioning whether a short-term low has been established. 

WORST: Biotechnology Clinical Trial Stocks

Biotechnology stocks experienced their strongest corrective phase of the year, with the industry benchmark iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF (IBB) falling 5 percent over the last week.

One ETF that experienced an even steeper decline was the BioShares Biotechnology Clinical Trials ETF (BBC).  This fund invests in more speculative biotech companies that are in the early stages of testing and clinical trials.

BBC dropped 8 percent during the last five trading sessions, which highlights its more aggressive risk-to-reward characteristics.  This ETF debuted at the end of 2014 and has accumulated more than $20 million in total assets during its relatively short tenure.