A Look Ahead: Next Week's ETFs To Watch

Tepid volume on Thursday indicated many traders had left early to get a jump on the three-day weekend. They should enjoy the extra day of rest and fun because next week is shaping up to be a busy one with myriad marquee earnings reports and even more importantly, the widely anticipated Federal Reserve press event on Wednesday April 27. Let's get a jump on the week ahead with five ETFs that should be on your radar screen. 1) Energy Select Sector SPDR XLE: The four largest U.S. oil companies all deliver first-quarter results next week and all four figure prominently in XLE's mix. If you're looking for an alternative ETF for earnings from Apache APA and Occidental OXY, try the iShares Dow Jones US Oil & Gas Exploration Index Fund IEO. 2) PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF PBJ: This defensive touched a new 52-week high before closing lower on Thursday as comments from McDonald's MCD about high commodities prices may have been a drag. Several of PBJ's biggest holdings report next week starting with Coca-Cola KO on Tuesday. 3) Guggenheim Airline ETF FAA: The story here should be pretty much known at this point: Higher oil prices are a drag on airline stocks, but if you must mess with FAA, next week might be the time to do it as several major carriers report earnings. 4) SPDR Gold Shares GLD: The Federal Reserve press event on Wednesday could easily cut one of the two ways for commodities for gold and both options could be appealing, at least for gold bugs. More quantitative easing would likely continue to fuel the surges we've seen in commodities. An end to asset purchase program might send even more investors looking for a safe haven in gold. 5) Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF VWO: Sentiment is improving toward emerging markets and their respective ETS as highlighted by VWO touching a new 52-week on high Thursday. Emerging markets equity funds saw fresh investments of$1.59 billion for the week ended April 20, according to EPFR Global.