Author: TradingETFs.com

Investors fled from high-yield corporate bonds as stock-market contagion spared few corners of the investment universe last week. Exchange-traded funds focusing on high-yield corporate paper, or “junk” debt, struggled to stem outflows from an asset class that has largely survived the turmoil in broader bond markets. Such bonds are issued by firms that carry a below investment-grade credit rating due to their debt-laden balance sheets and other factors. See: This recession indicator shows investors have faith U.S. growth has room to run According to TrimTabs Investment Research, high-yield bond exchange-traded…

The major stock indexes took a pummeling last week over fears that interest rates are rising too quickly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gave up a cumulative 1,300 points or roughly 5% on Wednesday and Thursday before recovering slightly in Friday trading. Surprisingly, the utilities sector, which typically moves lower when interest rates rise due to higher funding costs, has outperformed the broader market in October 2018. While the Standard and Poor’s 500 index (S&P 500) is down 5% so far this month, the Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) –…