Despite a large pullback in the energy sector, U.S. markets ended mostly flat on the holiday-shortened session Friday and closed out the month near record levels.
Over November, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.5%, the Nasdaq Composite increased 3.4% and he S&P 500 added 2.4%.
The best performing non-leveraged exchange traded products over the past month include WisdomTree Japan Hedged Capital Goods Fund (NYSEArca: DXJC) up 18.2%, iPath Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSEArca: GAZ) up 18.1% and Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares Fund (NYSEArca: ASHR) up 15.5%.
Japanese stock ETFs, notably the hedged-equity strategies that diminish the negative effects of a depreciating yen currency, strengthened after the world’s largest pension fund shifted into Japanese equities and the Bank of japan unexpectedly increased monetary stimulus. [Japan ETFs Find Double Support From BOJ, Pension Fund]
While burning down toward the end of the month, natural gas prices were set ablaze as a polar storm covered much of the U.S. with snow during mid-November. [Natural Gas ETFs Burn Hotter on Polar Vortex Hopes]
Chinese A-shares ETFs have become a popular way to gain direct exposure to the Chinese market. Chinese equities have been steadily rising after the People’s Bank of China cut interest rates and hinted at additional stimulus to support a slowing economy. [A-Shares ETFs Rally Following Surprise Rate Cut]