European stocks pared early losses Monday after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denied reports he plans to resign before a key vote in parliament.
In currency exchange traded funds, CurrencyShares Euro Trust (NYSEArca: FXE) was down fractionally in premarket trading on the latest development in Europe’s debt crisis. The ETF follows the euro’s movements relative to the U.S. dollar.
“The crisis has shifted from Greece to Italy and this is a domino that would not fall quietly,” said Kit Juckes, head of foreign-exchange research at Societe Generale, in a Bloomberg report. “It is impossible to see what can be done to restore Italian confidence, other than rebuild confidence in Italian public finances, and that is a Herculean task.”
The iShares MSCI Italy (NYSEArca: EWI) is down about 19% year to date but has bounced 10% over the past month.
Other single-country ETFs for Europe include:
- iShares MSCI France Index (NYSEArca: EWQ)
- iShares MSCI Germany Index (NYSEArca: EWG)
- iShares MSCI Spain Index (NYSEArca: EWP)
Broad Europe ETFs include:
- Vanguard Europe ETF (NYSEArca: VGK)
- iShares MSCI EMU Index (NYSEArca: EZU)
- SPDR EURO STOXX 50 (NYSEArca: FEZ)
iShares MSCI Italy
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of John Spence, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.