July 16, 2007 at 3:02 pm by Tom Lydon
As we mentioned yesterday, the exchange traded fund (ETF) iShares MSCI South Korea Index (EWY) is a rising star. However, it looks like EWY has some company as the iShares Asia region country-based ETFs yielded impressive performances last week, says Steven Towns of Seeking Alpha. iShares MSCI Japan (EWJ) was the only fund not up in double digits for the year as well as the U.S. broad market, represented by iShares S&P 500 Index (IVV).
Japan’s economy has been slow since 1990 even though the Tokyo stock exchange is the second largest after the New York Stock Exchange. Recently, foreign investors added more money to corporate Japan in hopes of reviving its market. iShares MSCI Malaysia (EWM), the second runner-up, has been going strong thanks to interest rate cuts and government spending on roads, bridges and other development projects.
With so many emerging markets in Asia, these ETFs will be exciting to watch.
For full disclosure, some of Tom Lydon’s clients own EWT.
Tags: Asia, Australia, China, Emerging Markets, Japan, Malaysia, S&P 500, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan
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