The problems in Europe centered around the so-called “PIIGS,” or Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. The Spain and Italy ETFs plunged when the problems emerged, but Ireland’s ETF hadn’t come out yet. Currently, there is no Greece ETF.
- iShares MSCI Spain (NYSEArca: EWP)
- iShares MSCI Italy (NYSEArca: EWI)
- iShares MSCI Ireland (NYSEArca: EIRL)
French banks have some of the largest exposure to PIIGS economies. That is one of the reasons why iShares MSCI France (NYSEArca: EWQ) has lost big in recent weeks.
Austria isn’t directly associated with the ongoing problems, but it got hit nonetheless. iShares MSCI Austria (NYSEArca: EWO) has more than 40% in the financial sector.
Fore more information on Europe, visit our Europe category.
- iShares MSCI EMU (NYSEArca: EZU)
- SPDR STOXX Europe 50 (NYSEArca: FEZ)
- WisdomTree Dreyfus Euro (NYSEArca: EU)
- CurrencyShares Euro Trust (NYSEArca: FXE)
Read the disclaimer; Tom Lydon is a board member of Rydex|SGI.
Max Chen contributed to this article.