ETFs that invest in U.S. Treasury bonds were among the worst performing funds this week due to a sharp sell-off Friday after the April nonfarm payrolls report surprised to the upside.
PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury Index (NYSEArca: ZROZ), Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index (NYSEArca: EDV) and iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (NYSEArca: TLT) were all down more than 2% on Friday.
“This nonfarm payroll number establishes a floor under Treasury yields,” said Donald Ellenberger at Federated Investors in a Bloomberg report. “The Fed continues to have its foot on the accelerator. That will keep a lid on how high Treasury yields can go. At the same time, this was a pretty decent payroll number, so that’s likely to put a floor on how low yields can go.”
In stocks, the S&P 500 traded above 1,600 for the first time and the Dow Jones Industrial Average cleared 15,000 at one point Friday. [VIX ETFs Drop on Nonfarm Payrolls]
For the week, the S&P 500 was on track for a weekly advance of 2%, the Dow rose 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite added 3%.
The top three unleveraged ETFs this week were Teucrium Corn Fund (NYSEArca: CORN), SPDR Oil & Gas Equipment & Services (NYSEArca: XES) and iShares MSCI Russia (NYSEArca: ERUS) with rallies of more than 5%.