Ho, ho, ho. The holidays are officially upon us and the markets are watching for a Santa Claus rally. We’ve got some exchange traded funds (ETFs) in mind for stocking stuffers.
SPDR S&P Retail (NYSEArca: XRT)
The holiday shopping season kicked off with a bang. Black Friday sales were up 12% from last year, and Cyber Monday sales topped $1 billion, making it the biggest online shopping day ever. Naturally, analysts expect more big shopping days as Christmas approaches. But we’re in a different climate these days: while the shoppers are out in force, the vast majority are being lured into stores offering deep discounts. XRT is a great way to get exposure to the retailers giving up the bargains – companies such as JC Penney (NYSE: JCP), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) and Sally Beauty (NYSE: SBH) are among the names you’ll find. JC Penney and Abercrombie today reported that their sales soared last month. [Retail ETFs Start Their Engines.]
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Oil Equipment & Services (NYSEArca: IEZ)