Exchange traded funds that invest in the U.S. financial sector will see action ramp up Friday as investors key on the jobs report and quarterly earnings from bailed-out insurance giant American International Group (NYSE: AIG).
AIG after Thursday’s closing bell said its first-quarter earnings fell 85%. The results “ included many items one-time in nature including the major catastrophe losses but offset by strong investment results,” Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Cliff Gallant said in a note.
“We also saw underlying earnings strength at SunAmerica and a better unallocated expense line so we are raising our earnings-per-share estimates and price target, but remain underperform,” Gallant said.
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLF), an ETF, is often the most highly traded security in the U.S. It provides investors with liquid exposure to a basket of the largest financial stocks, including banks, insurers and commercial real estate firms.
The ETF has been under pressure following bank earnings and is down about 3% over the past three months.
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund
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