Stealth Bear Markets in U.S. Stocks Are Hiding in Bushes
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While the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is still less than 4 percent below its September record, other gauges of U.S. stocks are revealing where risk has been taken off the most in front of an eventual “normalization” of monetary policy.
Most conspicuous are the 88 energy companies represented in the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF, a $1.1 billion fund. The ETF managed to rebound yesterday after falling 24 percent from its June record, though today it’s reversing those gains and setting a new 13-month low. Crude oil is down 22 percent from its high in September 2013 as the rallying U.S. currency lowers prices of dollar-denominated commodities.