Winners & Losers
This Week's ETF Winners & Losers
Robert Holmes
04/20/07 - 04:51 PM EDT
Exchange-traded funds tracking financials were among the best performers of the week, as positive earnings results from Citigroup (C), Wachovia (WB), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Washington Mutual (WM) boosted the sector.
Student loan lender Sallie Mae (SLM) also jumped nearly 18% Monday, after it announced it will be acquired by an investor group led by J.C. Flowers in a $25 billion transaction.
The Ultra Financials ProShares (UYG) ETF added 6.9% over the five sessions to finish at $69.80. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services (IYG) ETF gained 4.1% to $133.60. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) ETF was higher by 4.1% to $37.12. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker-Dealers (IAI) climbed 2.8% to $55.69.
Semiconductor-related ETFs also finished the week with huge gains, thanks to positive quarterly earnings news out of Intel (INTC) and Linear Technology (LLTC) on Wednesday.
The Ultra Semiconductor ProShares (USD) ETF was adding 10% at $77.62. The Semiconductor HOLDRs (SMH) ETF ended up 5.1% to $36.23. The SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) ETF gained 4.1% to $51.50. The iShares Goldman Sachs Semiconductor (IGW) ETF was higher by 3.7% at $64.20. The PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors (PSI) ETF climbed 3.2% to $18.99.
Housing-related ETFs were also winners for the week, following Tuesday's government report that said U.S. housing starts unexpectedly rose 0.8% in March to 1.518 million annualized units. Building permits also rose 0.8%, to 1.544 million, last month. On average, economists expected March starts to total 1.50 million, and for permits to dip to a 1.51 million annual pace.