Last week, the markets regained some semblance of momentum as the widely-anticipated quantitative easing plan from the European Central Bank was unveiled.
This news pushed the SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY back above its 50-day moving average and close to the flat line for the year. January has been a choppy month of trading, with several pronounced swings in both directions.
The week ahead features several key economic releases including the monthly FOMC statement, Case-Shiller housing data and fourth-quarter gross domestic product readings.
Here are the key ETFs to watch for the week of Monday, January 26:
iShares Residential Real Estate Capped ETF (REZ)
Real estate investment trusts have continued their fantastic 2014 run into 2015 and are an important sector to watch on Tuesday when Case-Shiller home price data is released. REZ tracks 37 publicly traded residential REITs and has gained nearly 10 percent so far this year.
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The combination of falling interest rates, strong real estate demand and an appetite for income have helped buoy this sector over the last 12 months.
Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (GREK)
Greece held an election over the weekend, which appears set to usher in a new party to govern the debt-ridden European nation. The outcome of this shakeup is likely to heavily impact GREK early this week.
This ETF has more than $115 million invested in 20 of the largest publicly traded companies on the Athens Stock Exchange. GREK is strongly weighted towards financial companies and consumer-oriented stocks.
GREK has fallen nearly 40 percent in the last 12 months, but may be set to reverse those fortunes if the new leadership is well-received.
Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK)
Several large-cap technology and telecommunications companies are set to report earnings this week. Microsoft Corporation MSFT, Apple Inc. AAPL, and AT&T T are some of the high-profile names that will be delivering results.
These three companies are also top holdings in the technology sector benchmark XLK. This ETF has more than $13 billion committed to 73 stocks in the hardware, software and telecom fields.
Apple in particular represents over 16 percent of the total asset allocation in XLK and will be a closely-watched barometer for the sector.
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