Don Dion's Weekly ETF Winners and Losers

The continuation of the previous week's rally left many of the same funds as top performers, with the addition of biotech.

Winners

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology

(FBT Quote) +26.8%

PowerShares Dynamic Biotech & Genome

(PBE Quote) +17.6%

Human Genome Sciences(HGSI Quote) stunned Wall Street with a successful clinical trial of its lupus drug; shares more than quadrupled. The two biotech ETFs listed above have exposure to the stock: PBE held 3.43 percent of assets in the stock and FBT had 5%, as it holds 20 stocks equally weighted. Due to the pop in HGSI, the allocations in PBE and FBT have climbed to 12.68% and 17.23%, respectively.

Market Vectors Solar

(KWT Quote) +15.9%

China announced a major subsidy program for solar projects, and SunTech Power(STP Quote) said it expects to turn a profit in the second quarter. That news lifted shares on Friday, and a bad earnings report from MEMC Electronic Materials(WFR Quote) means that STP will assume the top spot in KWT. SunPower(SPWRA Quote) delivered the biggest kick when it reported results that nearly doubled analyst estimates, sending shares up 30%.

Market Vectors Russia

(RSX Quote) +10.8%

Higher oil prices provided a boost to RSX, but telecom company Mobile Telesystems(MBT Quote), which makes up 5% of the ETF, contributed with a 15% gain. RSX lost short-term momentum during the mid-June to mid-July broader market decline, but long-term momentum is strong. It is up more than 100% in the past six months and also since the March lows, a little over three months ago.

Unlike several emerging-market ETFs that are hitting, or are close to hitting, new post-crash highs (and some 52-week highs in the case of Chinese ETFs), RSX remains about 15% below its June highs.

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction

(ITB Quote) +9.4%

SPDR S&P Homebuilers

(XHB Quote) +8.8%

Homebuilder NVR beat estimates and the market responded optimistically to housing data out this week. ITB bested XHB for the week because it holds a greater share of assets in homebuilders, vs. suppliers and retailers to the housing industry.

Losers

PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund

(UUP Quote) -0.9%

CurrencyShares Japanese Yen

(FXY Quote) -0.4%

The list of underperforming funds included a long list of short ETFs, plus many bond ETFs, which is typical of any week with rising stocks. The two most important are UUP and FXY because they acted as a safe haven during market selloffs.

1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting