Not surprisingly, XRT’s technical outlook is currently murky.
“This fund just recently hit new year-to-date lows and breached the November 2016 “election low” as well. The weakness in retail stocks should be notable in that consumer surveys demonstrate continued optimism in the economy. However, that confidence is not being returned in the share prices of many major national retailers,” according to ETF Daily News.
Other consumer discretionary and retail ETFs have been thriving, namely those with heavy tilts toward e-commerce names.
The trend away from traditional department stores and apparel retailers to online shopping destinations should benefit the Amplify Online Retail ETF (NasdaqGM: IBUY), which debuted last year. IBUY, which is comprised of global companies that generate at least 70% of revenue from online or virtual sales, has been one of the best-performing retail ETFs since its inception.
For more information on the consumer sector, visit our consumer discretionary category.