The value style and related exchange traded funds have maintained their lead as U.S. markets stumbled Thursday amid upbeat data that helped fuel inflation concerns, despite reports that President Joe Biden was withdrawing his proposed corporate tax hike.
Major indices pared early morning losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average back in the green mid-Thursday after Biden made major concessions amid talks with Republicans over the infrastructure spending bill, Reuters reports.
“The tax structure now has gone from headwind to a tailwind,” Rob Sechan, managing partner and co-founder of NewEdge Wealth, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, a better-than-expected U.S. weekly unemployment report and private payrolls numbers for May reflected an improving labor market. A measure of service sector activity also rose to a record high, signaling a robust economic rebound.
“The robust jobs data provides a challenge to the inflation narrative as better jobs result in higher spending which would further contribute to the inflationary trends,” Sean O’hara, president of Pacer ETFs, told Reuters.
However, the stronger economic data points fueled concerns that the Federal Reserve would ease its accommodative measures sooner than expected to obviate inflation risks.
“There is a continued focus on inflation and central banks and when they taper,” Caroline Simmons, U.K. chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, told the Wall Street Journal. “If the labor market comes in stronger than people are expecting, it will then raise the debate that the economy is on track, job growth is good and therefore we’ll end up with wage increases and at some point, domestic inflation.”
Investors who are interested in a targeted approach to the value segment can look to the American Century STOXX U.S. Quality Value ETF (NYSEArca: VALQ). VALQ’s stock selection process includes a value score based on value, earnings yield, and cash flow yield, along with a sustainable income score based on dividend yield, dividend growth, and dividend coverage.
The American Century Focused Large Cap Value ETF (FLV) tries to achieve long-term returns through an investment process that seeks to identify value and minimize volatility. FLV holdings and value stocks usually trade at lower prices relative to fundamental measures of value, like earnings and the book value of assets.
Lastly, the Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF (AVUV), an actively managed ETF, seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests primarily in U.S. small cap companies and is designed to increase expected returns by focusing on firms trading at what are believed to be low valuations with higher profitability ratios.
For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Core Strategies Channel.
