With all the turmoil in Europe, I thought it would be interesting to check on some of the single country ETFs for those nations which have been closest to the sovereign debt crisis. The chart below, courtesy of ETFreplay.com, captures the year-to-date price movements and (historical) volatility for the likes of Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Not surprisingly, Germany has held up the best and Spain has been the worst performer in 2010. France, which had been tracking fairly close to Germany, has fallen into second as the country’s bank exposure to Greece has saddled France with additional risk. Italy, which has been on the periphery of the contagion concerns, has fared only slightly better than Spain and has actually been the worst performer of the four during the last month and a half as the crisis has deepened.
Also, note that as is often the case, volatility is negatively correlated with performance in these countries, as the largest moves have been negative ones.
For more on related subjects, readers are encouraged to check out:
- Where and When Will the Euro Bottom?
- Greece, Spain and the Pulse of European Anxiety
- Are You Watching Greece?
[source: ETFreplay.com]