Mutual Funds Weekly Roundup: April 27

MutualFunds.com provides weekly information about any material impact on the mutual funds industry due to major economic and corporate events around the world. In addition, performance statistics on the top funds and fund categories are also provided.

• U.S. markets were positive this week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 20,548.

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

• India Equities continued 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 showed a bounce back from the prior two weeks of declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.46% to 20,548 and is up 3.97% year-to-date. The S&P 500 increased 0.85% for the week, closing at 2,349. The NASDAQ Composite Index was this week’s best-performing index, up 1.82% for the week to 5,911. After a brief two-week sell-off, investors are beginning to go back into the U.S. equity markets.

The industrial sector was this week’s top-performing area with a 2.05% return. The sector is up 5.07% on a year-to-date basis. This is led by companies like Boeing Co. (BA) and 3M Co. (MMM), which are both up over 14% and 9%, respectively, on a YTD basis.

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

International Equities – International equities were mostly up for the week. The MSCI Developed Index had a slight increase of 0.11%, while the MSCI Emerging Index dropped slightly by 0.08% for the week. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 finally had a positive week after five weeks of declines, increasing 1.05% and closing at 18,621.

Commodities – The commodity sector showed declines, with crude oil falling $3.56 per barrel and closing at $49.62 per barrel. The price of gold had a slight increase of $2 per troy ounce to close at $1,287, while copper had a decline of $0.03 per pound to close at $2.54.

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

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields showed an increase across all maturities. The two-year Treasury yield increased by 4 bps to 1.25%. The 10-year Treasury saw an increase of 7 bps to 2.31%, while the 30-year Treasury increased by 6 bps, yielding 2.95%.

Municipal Bonds – On the other hand, municipal yields did not show gains this week. The two-year AAA-rated bonds stayed flat and remained at 0.98%. The 10-year AAA-rated municipal decreased by 5 bps, while the 30-year decreased by 2 bps.

For the second week in a row, muni bond funds showed an inflow of $194 million.

Credit spreads increased this week, with the largest spread between the five-year Treasury and the AAA-rated municipal increasing 5 bps to 43 bps. The spread between the 30-year AAA-rated municipal and the 30-year Treasury reversed, and currently, Treasuries yield 5 bps more than their municipal counterparts.

You can also read about essential tax tips for mutual funds, so 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 one-month return generated as of April 21, 2017.

Top-performing fund: First Eagle Global I (FEGIX)

This fund is heavily invested in gold, which is up over 5% year-to-date.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of April 21, 2017. Only those funds that are rated five stars by Morningstar and that generated YTD returns greater than equal to 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.