• U.S. markets were negative for the week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreating back to 20,597.

• The best-performing fund so far for 2017 is Wasatch Emerging India Institutional (WIINX).

• India Equities continues to be the best-performing year-to-date and rolling one-month mutual fund subcategory.

• Make sure to check out the previous edition of the Weekly Roundup to keep track of changing trends.

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets were down this week for the second time in 2017. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.52% to 20,597 but is still up 4.22% year-to-date. The S&P 500 declined 1.44% for the week and settled at 2,344. Among the major U.S. indices, the NASDAQ Composite Index had the least decline, down 1.22% for the week to 5,829. Many investors have been selling off their gains as it seems they are worried that the market rally under Trump’s vision may be coming to an end.

The utility sector was this week’s top performing area, with a positive 1.30% return. With the stock market as a whole seeing red this week, investors tend to move into the utility sector as a defensive measure.

Explore our Mutual Fund Education section to learn more about important mutual fund concepts.

International Equities – On the other hand, international equities did not suffer such big declines. The MSCI Developed Index had a slight decline of 0.04%, while the MSCI Emerging Index increased by 0.42% for the week. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 continues to fall for the second week in a row, down 1.33%, and closed at 19,263.

Commodities – The commodity sector was a mixed bag last week, with oil seeing a $0.81 decrease per barrel and closing at $47.97 per barrel. The price of gold increased by $18 per troy ounce to $1,248, while copper declined by $0.06 per pound to close at $2.63.

Be sure to read our important tips on how to invest in the right commodity-based mutual fund.

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields declined across all maturities for the second week in a row, with the two-year Treasury yield decreasing by 5 bps. The 10-year and 30-year Treasuries also saw decreases from last week, down by 9 bps and 10 bps, respectively.

Municipal Bonds – Like Treasuries, municipal yields also decreased, with the two-year AAA-rated municipal yield declining by 3 bps. The 10-year AAA-rated municipal decreased by 13 bps while the 30-year decreased by 10 bps. Reversing the past three week trend of fund outflows, muni bond funds showed inflows of $55 million for the week. This demonstrates some stability in this market segment after the recent round of interest rate hike caused uncertainties.

You can also read essential tax tips for mutual funds so that you are aware of key strategies to limit your tax burden.

The following table provides a list of the top-performing mutual fund subcategories for the previous week within the broader categories of the industry. In each of these subcategories, we have listed the top mutual funds based on the 1-month return generated as of March 3, 2017.

Top-performing fund: Wasatch Emerging India Institutional (WIINX)

This fund’s largest holding is in MakeMyTrip Limited (MMYT), which is up more than 64% YTD.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of March 24, 2017. Only those funds that are rated 5 stars by Morningstar and that generated YTD returns greater than that achieved by the S&P 500 are included.

We provide this report on a weekly basis. To stay up to date with mutual fund market events, return to our News section.