Winners & Losers

Return to Article

This Week's ETF Winners & Losers

Robert Holmes

The Internet Infrastructure HOLDRs (IIH) exchange-traded fund was one of the best performers of the week, as the volatile software sector turned higher and supported the Nasdaq Composite.

Among the ETF's holdings, VeriSign (VRSN) jumped 7.9%, Akamai Technologies (AKAM) was up 2.4%, and InfoSpace (INSP) rose 2.2%. The ETF gained 3.5% to end the week at $5.73.

A huge earnings beat by Research in Motion (RIMM) late Thursday propelled the Wireless HOLDRs (WMH) ETF higher. On Friday, RIM was also upgraded by Bank of America and JMP Securities, and the stock soared 17.2% over the five sessions. The ETF added 2% to $68.26.

Housing-related ETFs were among the worst performers. On Tuesday, the Commerce Department said new-home sales fell 1.6% last month to an annual rate of 915,000 units, below economists' expectations. A hefty downward revision was made to April's figure, which was changed to 930,000 units from 981,000. On Thursday, KB Home (KBH) said it swung to a second-quarter loss due to lower demand and dwindling home prices.

For the week, the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction (ITB) ETF fell 4.9% to finish at $31.31. The SPDR Homebuilders (XHB) ETF shed 4.3% to $30.36.

The United States Natural Gas (UNG) ETF was also among the week's biggest losers, after a larger-than-expected build in natural gas inventories. On Thursday, the Energy Department said that natural gas supplies rose by 99 billion cubic feet last week, sending natural gas lower by 5% to $6.77 for the week, close to a two-year low. The ETF lost 6% to $43.56.

Elsewhere, ETFs tracking silver were among the decliners, as silver futures dropped 4.2% to close Friday at $12.47 an ounce. The PowerShares DB Silver (DBS) ETF was lower by 5.6% to $24.39.The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) fell 5.1% to $123.38.

Gold-related ETFs also dropped. Futures ended lower by 0.9% at $650.90 an ounce. The Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) ETF dipped 2.3% to $37.89. The iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU) closed lower by 0.9% to $64.30, and the streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD) ETF lost 0.8% to end the week at $64.29.