A broad mix of commodities topped returns for the major asset classes for the trading week through Friday, Mar. 25, based on a set of ETFs. The gain marks a shift for raw materials after declines for two weeks in a row.
WisdomTree Continuous Commodity Index Fund (NYSE:GCC) jumped 5.5% last week, outperforming the rest of the field by a wide margin. The second-best performer for the major asset classes: US stocks via Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VTI), which climbed 1.6%, the fund’s first back-to-back weekly gains since January.
Most markets posted losses last week, with bond suffering the deepest setbacks. The biggest decline: foreign government bonds ex-US shed 1.9% via SPDR Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE:BWX), which closed on Friday at its lowest level since spiking down during the coronavirus crash in March 2020.
The Global Market Index (GMI.F) continued rising last week, gaining 0.5%. This unmanaged benchmark, maintained by CapitalSpectator.com, holds all the major asset classes (except cash) in market-value weights via ETF proxies.
Commodities continue to lead the major asset classes by a wide margin for the one-year window. GCC is up a sizzling 43.5% over the past 12 months – the one-year leader by far. The second-best performer – US real estate (NYSE:VNQ) – is ahead by 17.7%.
The biggest one-year loss as of Friday’s close: corporate bonds in foreign markets via PICB, which is down 12.0%.
GMI.F is up 4.0% for the trailing one-year window.
Profiling the major asset classes through a drawdown lens continues to show that most markets are posting deeper peak-to-trough declines than the current 6.5% decline for GMI.F.
