With an already brittle infrastructure, Hurricane Maria could send Puerto Rico back 20–30 years. Damage is estimated to be more than $30 billion, according to Market Watch.
MarketWatch also reports another unfortunate effect of the hurricane is its impact on the supply of life-sustaining drugs. Several health-care manufacturing facilities that supply drugs all over the world are located in Puerto Rico. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the supply of cancer drugs, immunosuppressants for organ transplants, and medical devices for diabetics could all be affected.
On a positive note, the facilities of drugmakers Amgen and AbbVie remain intact and operational. The hurricane is not expected to disrupt Amgen’s drug supply in part because the company has maintained a surplus in inventory to meet patient demand. Health-care manufacturing will play an import role in stimulating the recovery of Puerto Rico’s shaky economy. However, the Health Care sector is expected to continue to fall in the next coming weeks. The SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF decreased by 1% on Tuesday (9/26).
Sectors: The leading Sector Benchmark ETFs exhibited mostly negative shifts over the past week. Health Care and Technology both fell significantly. Momentum scores of most sectors decreased for the week. The only exceptions were Energy and Industrials. Telecom shot up incredibly, coming out of the red. The spread between the highest and lowest increased from 28 to 34. In terms of ranking, there appeared to be no general trend between cyclicals and defensive sectors, continuing the previous week’s trend. Technology sat above Utilities. Energy improved significantly from last week, jumping from 16 to 29. An overall decrease in momentum for most sectors suggests the potential for a market slowdown.
Factors: The leading Factor Benchmark ETFs had mostly mixed results for the week. High Beta and Small Size are now in the lead. Low Volatility and Market Cap sit at the bottom. Risk-off factors such as Quality, Yield, and Low Volatility were dispersed. Quality and Yield were toward the center, and Low Volatility was at the bottom. Overall, momentum for all factors decreased last week, with the average momentum score changing from 15.5 to 14.9. The spread decreased from 17 to 14.
Global: Rankings in the leading Global Benchmark ETFs were mostly negative week. Latin America and China remained at the top of the rankings, with Latin America having a slight lead. Most momentum scores decreased for the week. Developed and developing countries fell, with Canada being the only country rising, from 24 to 25. China decreased the most, from 52 to 31. The average momentum score globally decreased from 25.1 to 18.1. USA and the Pacific were at the bottom in terms of absolute rank. Developing markets have mostly fallen for the week: Latin America decreased from 47 to 33 and Emerging Markets fell from 32 to 16.