Greece, Spain, Portugal: Hope In Sight for ETFs?

The markets and exchange traded funds (ETFs) reacted well to news that European officials could be moving to save Greece from its increasingly disconcerting debt crisis.  But the crisis is far from over – we’ve still got Spain to contend with. European leaders are reportedly planning to meet and discuss how to contain Greece’s debt crisis. Investors have become increasingly worried that Greece, Spain and Portugal would default on their debt and kick off another international financial crisis, reports Javier C. Hernandez for The New York Times.

The cost of insuring the Spanish and Portuguese government debt rose to a new record today, reports William L. Watts for MarketWatch.

There’s no guarantee that European leaders will actually step in, but this is a positive move in the right direction and could go a long way toward reassuring investors. If rescue measures are passed, it could once again put Europe’s ETFs back on track. In the last month, broader ETFs focused on Europe have been down about 15%. [Spain's Issues to Tackle.]

Watch those trend lines to spot opportunities as this region makes a recovery. [How to Follow Trends.]

Visit our Europe page for more stories about the region.

• iShares MSCI Spain (NYSEArca: EWP)

• iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Eastern Europe (NYSEArca: ESR)

• SPDR S&P Emerging Europe (NYSEArca: GUR)