France dodged a bullet this week when Standard & Poor’s kept its triple-A rating on the country’s debt, but the exchange traded fund remains under pressure on the Eurozone crisis.
The iShares MSCI France (NYSEArca: EWQ) was down nearly 2% on Friday to cap a tough week. The ETF is down over 20% the past month. [France ETF Tumbles with Banks]
“The rating for France is a stable AAA and that has been the case since 1975. We are confident on that rating,” said S&P Chief Carole Sirou, reports International Business Times.
European stock ETFs have traded lower despite some countries banning short selling. [European ETFs Recover on Talk of Short-Sale Ban]
A recent meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy did little to calm nerves as no real steps were announced to address the credit storm. [Euro Currency ETFs Fall]
Other European single-country ETFs lost ground Friday. [Italy, Spain ETFs Back in Debt Vise]
Exchange traded funds that invest in Europe suffered heavy losses Thursday as the region’s debt crisis spiraled further. Renewed worries over the global economy added to the selling. [European ETFs Hurt by Banks]
iShares MSCI France
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.