So far this year, the iShares MSCI France ETF (NYSEArca: EWQ) rose 12.1% while the iShares MSCI Germany ETF (NYSEArca: EWG) gained 9.3%. Meanwhile, the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (NYSEArca: HEWG) increased 15.2%, Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: DBGR) gained 16.2% and WisdomTree Germany Hedged Equity Fund (NasdaqGM: DXGE) returned 12.4% year-to-date.
“We had a really good reading in France – it is now growing at a nice rate and there are signs that consumers are spending more,” Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said on CNBC. “When you look at the second quarter as a whole, it’s a much more reassuring picture because you have business activity and employment growth in everywhere outside France and Germany growing at the fastest rates since mid-2007.”
James Howat, European economist at Capital Economics, believes that the Eurozone PMI suggests gross domestic product growth could be about 0.4% in the second quarter.
For more information on Europe, visit our Europe category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.
Full disclosure: Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of HEDJ.