Ticker

Healthcare equipment is undervalued based on historical averages, while other subsectors are slightly overvalued. The iShares Global Healthcare ETF offers diversified global healthcare exposure, with 72% in US companies and 110 holdings. Despite lower company-specific risk and better value, IXJ has underperformed XLV by about 2% annualized over both long and short timeframes.

Fidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETF has a significantly lower expense ratio than iShares Global Healthcare ETF. iShares Global Healthcare ETF provides exposure to international healthcare markets, whereas the Fidelity fund focuses on U.S. equities.

XLV has a significantly lower expense ratio of 0.08% compared to IXJ's 0.38%. IXJ provides broader exposure with 110 holdings across global markets, while XLV concentrates on 60 domestic S&P 500 stocks.

iShares Global Healthcare ETF provides broad sector coverage with a higher dividend yield than State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF. State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has delivered stronger total returns over the last year but experiences significantly higher maximum drawdowns.

South Korean stocks fell sharply on Thursday as Brent crude held above $100 a barrel, pushing the KOSPI back below the 7,000 mark just a day after it reclaimed the level for the first time in more than a month. The benchmark was down 1.28% at 6,961.23 by late morning in Seoul.