Junk debt ETFs such as iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSEArca: HYG) and SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond (NYSEArca: JNK) are on track for their third straight week of losses.
The high-yield corporate bond ETFs are also diverging from the S&P 500, so the credit market doesn’t seem to be confirming the latest bump higher in stocks.
Since May 3, the high-yield fund HYG is down 1.3% while SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) is up 3.3%. [High-Yield Bond ETFs: S&P Still Sees Opportunities]
Technical analyst Chris Kimble at Kimble Charting Solutions in a note this week said it’s odd to see high-yield bonds deviate from the S&P 500. This often happens at key tops and bottoms in U.S. stocks, he said.
On Friday, he pointed out that the two junk bond ETs have formed so-called bearish rising wedges — two-thirds of the time prices will end up lower in the future. [iShares: Four Reasons to Still Hold High-Yield ETFs]