The safe-haven trade remained in force during last week’s trading activity for the major asset classes, based on a set of proxy ETFs. Bonds were the clear winner for the five trading days through Feb. 12, with the SPDR Barclays International Treasury ETF (BWX) leading fixed-income higher for the second week in a row with a solid 1.4% total return. The modestly weaker US dollar has been a factor in boosting performance of foreign bonds in unhedged terms. Note that the US Dollar Index has eased in each of the past two weeks. Meanwhile, US REITS (VNQ) posted last week’s biggest decline among the major asset classes, tumbling 4.4% for the week just passed.
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