Tactical ETF Review: Stocks Start Strong, U.S. Commodities Stuck in Neutral

It's been a good year so far for risky assets. Year-to-date returns don't mean much at this point, but the out-of-the-gate start keeps hope alive. Yet the crowd always finds a reason to worry and the "surprisingly tranquil" profile of runnup will do nicely.

Nonetheless, U.S. stocks look quite strong on a technical basis these days as domestic equities extend the rally that began in mid-December. Foreign stocks are following suit. Or is it the other way around? But amid a rising appetite for risk, investment-grade bonds are sagging, thanks mostly to lightening up on Treasuries.

It's a different story for foreign bonds, which are rising in U.S. dollar terms, in part thanks to fresh weakness in the greenback. Meantime, commodities overall look stuck in neutral, although gold is beginning to percolate again.

And after a brief respite, real estate investment trusts (REITs) are taking wing once more. The question is whether the revival is a sign of things to come for the year ahead? Much depends on how the economic numbers fare in the weeks ahead. We know that recession looks like a done deal in Europe, but the consensus view is more favorable for the U.S.

Meantime, here's how the charts stack up for the major asset classes via our usual list of ETF proxies…

US STOCKS • Vanguard Total Market (VTI) • Benchmark: MSCI US Broad Market Index
Off to the races... again



FOREIGN DEVELOPED MARKET STOCKS • Vanguard Europe Pacific (VEA) • Benchmark: MSCI EAFE
Foreign developed stocks are rebounding too...



EMERGING MARKET STOCKS • Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO) • Benchmark: MSCI Emerging Market
And emerging market equities have also joined the party...



US BONDS • Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND) • Benchmark: Barclays US Aggregate
Some profit-taking in US bonds..





INFLATION-INDEXED US TREASURIES • iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (TIP) • Benchmark: Barclays US TIPS
And second thoughts about inflation-indexed Treasuries too...




HIGH YIELD BONDS • SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond (JNK) • Benchmark: Barclays High Yield Very Liquid
But the relatively high yields in junk bonds draws a crowd...




COMMODITIES • iPath Dow Jones-UBS Commodity (DJP) • Benchmark: DJ-UBS Commodity
Commodities seem to be stuck in neutral lately...




REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS • Vanguard REIT (VNQ) • Benchmark: MSCI US REIT
REITs reach new recent highs ...




FOREIGN DEVELOPED MARKET GOVERNMENT BONDS • SPDR Barclays Int’l Treasury (BWX) •
Benchmark: Barclays Global Treasury ex-US Capped
Foreign bonds are perking up in 2012...




EMERGING MARKET GOVERNMENT BONDS • Van Eck Market Vectors Emg Mkt Local Currency Bond (EMLC) •
Benchmark: J.P. Morgan GBI-EMG Core
Emerging market bonds are on the march again too...




FOREIGN GOVERNMENT INFLATION-LINKED BONDS • SPDR DB International Inflation-Protected Bond (WIP) •
Benchmark: DB Global Government ex-US Inflation-Linked Bond Capped
Ditto for foreign inflation-indexed government bonds...




FOREIGN CORPORATE BONDS • PowerShares International Corporate Bond (PICB) •
Benchmark: S&P International Corporate Bond
Signs of life in foreign corporates...