The iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EWZ), the largest ETF tracking Latin America’s largest economy, has dealt with its share trials and tribulations. Slowing economic growth in China, a key destination for Brazilian commodities exports, coupled with a weak currency and weakness in the broader emerging markets complex tumbling into a bear market with a 23.1% loss through the first six months of this year.
The past month has been far more kind to Brazilian equities as the benchmark Bovespa has flirted with entering a bull market. EWZ has gained almost 10% since August 16 and things are looking up from a technical perspective. [BRICs Lead Emerging Markets ETFs]
Shares of EWZ “have come to life technically. Specifically, the shares have knifed to nearly three-month highs, clearing well-defined resistance. It’s now traversing less-charted territory, and the risk/reward can be favorable from current levels with a stop at the breakout point,” writes Michael Ashbaugh for MarketWatch.
The positive technical outlook on EWZ from Ashbaugh jibes with noted technical analyst Chris Kimble. In a post on Advisor Perspectives earlier this month, Kimble pointed out that EWZ looked as though it had formed a double bottom just below $42 and that the ETF was displaying good relative strength against the S&P 500.
Aside from the technicals, there have recently been other positive catalysts for EWZ. Last week, J.P. Morgan issued a bullish call on Vale (NYSE: VALE), the world’s largest iron ore maker. Two Vale securities combine for 10% of EWZ’s weight, making the company the ETF’s second-largest holding behind Petrobras (NYSE: PBR). [Good News for Big Brazil ETF]