Political instability in the Eurozone’s fourth-largest economy could further elevate volatility for Spanish stock, potentially punishing investors that have poured into EWP. Bond watchers were concerned that other peripheral states with growing anti-austerity political parties could push for more favorable debt relief. If creditors give Greece a pass and issues a big write down of Greek debt, there will be greater pressure to extend terms to other member states, which would quickly become economically unviable. [Contagion Fears hit PIIGS ETFs]
Perhaps surprisingly, EWP did not lose any investments last week and the ETF has added over $268 million in new cash this year as Spain’s economy is growing at its fastest clip since 2008. The country is less than two years removed from a double-dip recession, but has one of the region’s fastest-growing economies.
Spain’s CAPE, or cyclically-adjusted price-to-earnings ratio, is just 11.6. That’s below the CAPE on British and French stocks and less than half the CAPE on U.S. stocks.
iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF
