Winners & Losers

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Monday's ETF Winners & Losers

Robert Holmes

Overseas-related exchange-traded funds were among the best performers Monday as foreign markets took their lead from the strong session last time out in the U.S. and rallied.

The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI Quote) ETF was higher by $2.89, or 2.3%, to $127.29. The iShares MSCI Australia Index (EWA Quote) gained 54 cents, or 2.2%, to $25.47, and the SPDR S&P China (GXC Quote) ETF was adding $1.06, or 1.6%, to $660.01. The iShares MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ Quote) was up 83 cents, or 1.6%, to $53.91.

ETFs following real estate were also holding gains. Among individual names, ProLogis (PLD Quote), Vornado Realty Trust (VNO Quote) and Equity Residential (EQR Quote) were all higher by 3.7% or more.

The Ultra Real Estate ProShares (URE Quote) ETF was adding $1.75, or 4.2%, to $43.91. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate (IYR Quote) ETF was up $1.71, or 2.4%, to $73.56. The Vanguard REIT Index (VNQ Quote) rose $1.24, or 1.9%, to $68.84.

Bundled securities tracking the retail sector were also higher. Shares of Lowe's (LOW Quote) were up more than 6% after the home-improvement retailer topped both earnings per share and sales forecasts for the second quarter.

The SPDR S&P Retail (XRT Quote) ETF was adding 59 cents, or 1.5%, to $38.89. The PowerShares Dynamic Retail (PMR Quote) ETF was up 18 cents, or 1%, to $17.82. The Retail HOLDRs (RTH Quote) tacked on 42 cents, or 0.4%, to $97.47.

On the other hand, the United States Natural Gas (UNG Quote) ETF was the worst decliner, as natural gas slid 68 cents to $6.33 per million British thermal units. The ETF was falling $3.80, or 8.6%, to $40.36.

ETFs tracking crude oil were also lower, as the front-month contract slipped $1.18 to $70.80 a barrel. The downward move came as the projected track of Hurricane Dean was shifted south of the major oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Ultra Oil & Gas ProShares (DIG Quote) ETF was lower by $1.45, or 1.6%, to $89.35. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration Index (IEO Quote) was down 92 cents, or 1.7%, to $53.23. The United States Oil (USO Quote) ETF shed 93 cents, or 1.7%, to $53.10.