Best And Worst ETFs Of The Week Amid Renewed Breakout

Stocks were hard on the gas this week as major indices such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY broke out to new highs.

This breakout was preceded by a multi-week sideways price trend that ultimately resolved to the upside in favor of the bulls.

One of the more notable areas of the strength in the market was mid-cap stocks, as measured by the SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF MDY.

These companies have taken over the leadership role from large caps and appear to be flexing their growth potential in the early stages of 2015.

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

BEST: Russian Stocks

Russian stocks are one of the stunning comeback stories of 2015 after having fallen double digits last year.

This emerging-market nation has benefited from the stabilization in crude oil prices along with tentative negotiations to reduce tensions with neighboring Ukraine.

The star performer this week was the Market Vector Russia ETF Trust RSX, which jumped more than 10 percent. This single-country, exchange-traded fund has over $1.6 billion dedicated to a basket of publicly traded companies in Russia.

According to fund flow data, investors poured up to $1.3 billion in RSX last year and are now starting to see a rebound in this index.

Related Link: Emerging Markets Need To Hold Support

WORST: Nigerian Stocks

As the saying goes, “There’s always a bull market somewhere.” The same logic can be applied to bear markets as well, and Nigeria has been one of the unfortunate casualties of global capital flows.

The Global X Nigeria ETF (Global X Funds NGE) fell more than 13 percent this week after hitting new 52-week lows on Friday.

This ETF tracks a basket of companies in this African nation, which has been hard-hit by currency and commodity market fluctuations.

It was also reported this week that Standard & Poor’s is considering cutting the credit rating on Nigeria as it deals with the fallout of lower oil prices and political uncertainty.

Countries that rely on oil-centric economic activity have experienced significant strife over the last year and may take time to stabilize or recover.