iShares CMBS ETF

CMBS

Market cap $484M

Real estate earnings season kicks into gear this week, and over the next month, we'll hear results from 175 equity REITs, 40 mortgage REITs, and dozens of housing industry companies. Following a year-end tumble that lingered into early 2025, REITs enter earnings season with a bit of upside momentum as Treasury Yields eased from the cusp of two-decade highs. Largely immune from trade/tariff and AI-related risk, REITs are coming back into favor after three years of historic underperformance, which has driven valuations to unusually "cheap" levels.

US equity markets posted modest declines this week amid a "DeepSeek" tumble, while interest rates declined to six-week lows as markets responded to the pause in the Fed's rate-cutting cycle. The Nasdaq 100 was the center of the action this week, dipping 1.4% on concern over potential competition from Chinese startup DeepSeek, which sparked a sharp sell-off in AI-darlings. Real estate equities were among the stronger performers for a third-straight week, buoyed by easing interest rates and by a relatively solid start to REIT earnings season.

U.S. equity markets were little changed this week, while long-term benchmark interest rates surged as investors assessed the political and economic fallout from a disastrous debate performance by President Biden. Beneath the political drama, investors parsed corporate commentary and economic data that pointed towards a further slowdown in U.S. consumer spending, while inflation data showed a continued moderation in price pressures. Declining for just the second week in the past ten, the S&P 500 posted fractional declines on the week, but nevertheless held on to impressive first-half total returns of over 15%.

U.S. equity and bond markets staged a late-week rebound, erasing early-week declines prompted by disappointing Eurozone inflation data, after the crucial PCE inflation gauge posted its smallest increase of 2024. Posting a second week of modest declines following four-straight weekly gains, the S&P 500 finished lower by 0.4% on the week, but still notched its best month since February. Real estate equities also rebounded following steep declines in the prior week as a handful of REITs provided positive business updates ahead of the annual REITweek industry conference.

U.S. equity markets notched another week of gains after a busy slate of economic data and corporate earnings results were broadly consistent with a "soft landing" trend for the domestic economy. Ahead of the Federal Reserve's first policy meeting of 2024, the FOMC's favored inflation gauge - Core PCE - showed a "2-handle" for the first time in nearly two years. Notching a series of record highs through the week, the S&P 500 advanced 1.2%, extending its impressive rally since late October to 12 of the past 13 weeks.

Real estate earnings season kicked into gear this week, and over the next month, we'll hear results from 175 equity REITs, 40 mortgage REITs, and dozens of housing industry companies. The sector with perhaps the most to gain from moderating inflation and a normalization in Fed monetary policy, REITs enter earnings season with upside momentum after a dismal eighteen-month stretch. Sentiment and macroeconomic conditions have improved significantly in the past quarter, fueled by several months of encouraging inflation data pointing once again towards a "soft landing" for the domestic economy.

U.S. equity markets posted another week of gains as investors weighed conflicting indications on economic momentum and the need for rate cuts, with strong economic data offsetting soft corporate earnings. Swaps markets are now pricing in roughly 45% probability that the Federal Reserve will begin its rate-cutting cycle in March, down from odds of over 80% in the prior week.