Small-cap and energy ETFs got slapped down in the week ended Thursday, Nov. 8, as fiscal-cliff worries sent stocks into retreat.
The PowerShares DWA SmallCap Technical Leaders ETF (NYSEArca: DWAS) fell 9 percent in the past week, making it one of the worst-performing exchange-traded funds, as the broader stock market plunged enough after the U.S. presidential election to record its steepest one-day decline this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average shed more than 421 points in the five-day trading period ended Thursday, Nov. 8, dropping 3.2 percent to 12,811.32. Still, it wasn't the outcome of the Nov. 6 election that caused the swoon, but rather anxiety Congress won't extend Bush and Obama tax cuts by the end of the year, raising the risk that the U.S. economy might be on the verge of falling off the so-called fiscal cliff.
DWAS was one of two PowerShares small-cap funds to rank among the week's bottom performers. The PowerShares S&P SmallCap Energy ETF (NYSEArca: PSCE) also lost ground, giving up nearly 6.2 percent.
Small-cap stocks tend to be more sensitive to broad market action, as they react more quickly to changes in market sentiment. Still, small-cap strategies weren't the only ones on the losing end of this past week's performance charts.
The Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Oil Hedged ETN (NYSEArca: BARL) was the worst-performing strategy in the Thursday-to-Thursday period, dropping 10.34 percent. It was the leading edge of a pullback in a number of energy-related ETPs.
Volatility ETPs Spike
On the flip side, volatility-focused strategies were—unsurprisingly—market leaders, gaining ground in a week when investors' nerves were on edge as they began to come to terms with the fact that the election may not have put an end to a deep rift in Congress.
That rift could jeopardize the government's ability to find a compromise and a solution to the fiscal cliff.
Other top performers in the past week included the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Value Index Fund (NYSEArca: EVAL), which rallied 4.76 percent.
Also, the Pimco 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury ETF (NYSEArca: ZROZ) and the Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury ETF (NYSEArca: EDV), climbed 4.67 percent and 4.14 percent, respectively—unsurprising appearances on the Top 10 list, as bonds tend to do well when stocks are in retreat.
Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded
| Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
| GRN | iPath Global Carbon ETN | 15.83% | 2,088 | 1.33 |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term | 9.46% | 6,569,428 | 170.01 |
| VIIX | VelocityShares VIX Short Term ETN | 9.40% | 3,310,629 | 13.55 |
| VXX | iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | 9.22% | 187,232,390 | 1,668.37 |
| VXZ | iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN | 5.22% | 3,810,639 | 111.93 |
| VIXM | ProShares VIX Mid-term | 5.07% | 365,699 | 102.50 |
| EVAL | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Value | 4.76% | 1,924 | 7.13 |
| ZROZ | PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury | 4.67% | 380,539 | 114.37 |
| DPU | PowerShares DB Commodity Long ETN | 4.23% | 11,279 | 6.04 |
| EDV | Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury | 4.14% | 134,077 | 172.96 |
Bottom 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded
| Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
| BARL | Morgan Stanley S&P 500 Oil Hedged ETN | -10.34% | 2,225 | 10.40 |
| DWAS | PowerShares DWA SmallCap Technical Leaders | -9.05% | 46,536 | 13.84 |
| PEK | Market Vectors China | -8.41% | 72,888 | 11.70 |
| FCG | First Trust ISE-Revere Natural Gas | -6.69% | 2,068,992 | 415.28 |
| CVOL | C-Tracks Exchange-Traded Notes on the Citi Volatility | -6.64% | 227,236 | 6.09 |
| XME | SPDR S&P Metals and Mining | -6.37% | 23,645,513 | 1,011.58 |
| EMFN | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Financials | -6.36% | 1,502 | 4.87 |
| DBJP | db-X MSCI Japan Currency-Hedged Equity | -6.28% | 3,010 | 4.47 |
| KOL | Market Vectors Coal | -6.25% | 3,212,755 | 246.44 |
| PSCE | PowerShares S&P SmallCap Energy | -6.17% | 121,057 | 37.28 |
Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.
