consumer staples

Before proclaiming consumer staples stocks as boring and small-caps as disappointing to this point in 2016, have a look at the PowerShares S&P SmllCp Csmr Stpls Pfo (NASDAQ: PSCC). The PowerShares S&P SmallCap Consumer Staples Portfolio is small-cap cousin of the popular Consumer Staples...

Take a poll of investors who are familiar with low-volatility exchange-traded funds, of which data suggest there are plenty, and ask those investors what sectors they would use to build a new low-volatility ETF. Chances are those polled would say a low-volatility ETF should include consumer...

Popular market trades have significantly lagged the performance of less popular trades. According to Bernstein analyst Ann Larson, crowded trades have underperformed the least crowded trades by about 9.1 percent globally in the past three months. Today, consumer staples, healthcare, technology and...

With the Consumer Staples Select Sect. SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLP) up nearly 5 percent year-to-date and 6.4 percent over the past 90 days, there have been plenty of good times to be long the staples sector this year. However, with another bout of “sell in May and go away” potentially looming...

Market volatility has been a boon for defensive sectors this year, namely consumer staples and utilities. Seasoned income investors know that while the consumer staples and utilities sectors have some dividend perks, these groups often trade at rich multiples relative to the broader market....

Underscoring investors' affinity this year for lower risk sectors, the Utilities SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLU) is by far the best-performing sector SPDR exchange-traded fund with a gain of 11.3 percent. Further cementing the notion low beta is in style this year, the Consumer Staples Select Sect. SPDR...

Here is an anecdote that highlights just how much low beta, stodgy stocks have been in style this year: On a year-to-date basis, just two members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up at least 10 percent. One is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), the world's largest retailer. That serves...

Defensive sectors, such as consumer staples, have their advantages, namely solid dividend yields and a lack of volatility. However, that does not mean exchange-traded funds such as the popular Consumer Staples Select Sect. SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLP) are free lunches. Rather, the opposite is true, as...

The Utilities SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLU) is the only one of the sector SPDR exchange-traded funds higher on a year-to-date basis, but the Consumer Staples Select Sect. SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLP) is not far behind with a barely noticeable 2016. The last couple of days of market action aside, leadership from...

Last year, the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLY) was the leader among the sector SPDR exchange-traded funds with a 9.9 percent gain. Less than two months into 2016, XLY has given all those gains back, and then some, with a 10.7 percent loss. XLY's 2016 tale of trouble is not hard to...

Last year, the Consumer Staples Select Sect. SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLP) climbed 6.9 percent, which was good for the second-best performance among the sector SPDR exchange-traded funds. XLP, the largest consumer staples ETF, trailed only the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLY) last year....

The iShares iBoxx $ High Yid Corp Bond (ETF) (NYSE: HYG), the largest exchange-traded fund holding high-yield corporate debt, is down nearly 4.5 percent over the past month, so it is not a stretch to say junk bond investors that use ETFs are not enthused by HYG's performance. However, the ETF...

Give the Consumer Staples Select Sect. SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLP) some credit. The largest consumer staples exchange-traded fund by assets is up 6.6 percent year-to-date despite strong dollar headwinds and the subsequent challenges created by speculation, though now dwindling, that the Federal Reserve...

A new report by Morgan Stanley focuses on the valuation of consumer staples stocks around the globe. According to the report, consumer staples stocks are currently trading at a hefty premium to historical valuations. The Numbers Global consumer staples stocks are currently trading at a next...