iShares Asia region country-based ETFs traded lower across the board last week, led by double-digit declines from year-to-date return leaders China and India.

iPath ETN India (INP), which had been on a tear the prior two weeks, gave back nearly 11%, lowering its ytd return to 56%, second-best among the funds surveyed.

iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (FXI) continued to face selling pressure, losing 12.5% on the week and seeing its ytd return decline to 63%.

Among several funds that had ytd returns in excess of 40%, only iShares Malaysia (EWM) held that level, losing less than half a percent last week, least among the funds surveyed.

iShares Japan (EWJ) is now nearly 6% in the red for the year. A stronger yen helps the likes of EWJ, but forex is a double-edged sword since it reduces the value of dollar-denominated sales (at least on paper) for Japan's exporters.

See the chart below for last week's results. There are two sets of returns for each ETF: the past week [light blue] and year-to-date [purple].

Note, the bars for the iShares S&P 500 index (IVV) are colored differently for comparative purposes.

Click to enlarge chart

Disclosure: The author does not own shares of any funds mentioned in this article.

In Monday (11/12) trading, every regional benchmark declined, led by a 3.9% drop in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng is now trading around 27,665, after having eclipsed 31,000 in late October. The Shanghai Composite fell 2.4% to 5,187, getting ever closer to the 5,000 level (it was last at 6,000 three-weeks ago). The Nikkei hit a 15-month low, losing 2.5% to 15,197, extending its losing streak to a seventh session. Singapore's Straits Times also lost 2.5%. The Seoul Composite and Taiwan Weighted index both lost nearly 3.4%. India's BSE 30 lost 1.7% to 18,737 -- it was above 20,000 a week ago. Malaysia's KLSE Composite lost 1.4% and Australia's All Ordinaries was off 1.3%.

Here is a list of the relevant ETFs and their tickers.

iShares Australia (EWA)
iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (FXI)
iShares Hong Kong (EWH)
iPath ETN MSCI India (INP)
iShares Japan (EWJ)
iShares Malaysia (EWM)
iShares Singapore (EWS)
iShares S. Korea (EWY)
iShares Taiwan (EWT)
iShares EAFE (EFA)
iShares Pacific ex-Japan (EPP)
iShares S&P 500 (IVV)

• EFZ: Portfolio Hedge with Risks  »
• ETF Update: Coffee, Cocoa and Sugar ETFs Strong; Silver ETF Up; Commodities Bottom  »
• 2008: A Great Year for Short-Sellers   »
• Investing in Water - It's Not Just for Drinking  »
• Thursday Outlook: Grab Your Paintbrush  »

Steven Towns

• Bio & more articles
• Visit author's site