Winners & Losers

Return to Article

Friday's ETF Winners & Losers

Robert Holmes

Exchange-traded funds tracking gold and silver were among the best performers of Friday's session, as commodity futures soared.

Recently, gold prices were jumping by $10.20 to $750.10 an ounce. Silver was surging 29 cents to $13.94 an ounce.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) ETF was higher by $1.20, or 2.7%, to $45.53. The PowerShares DB Silver (DBS) was up 58 cents, or 2.2%, to $27.10. The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was climbing $2.79, or 2.1%, to $137.04. The PowerShares DB Gold (DGL) added 40 cents, or 1.4%, to $29.14.

The PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bearish (UDN) was also in positive territory as the euro was hitting yet another record high against the dollar, closing in on $1.42. The ETF was adding 17 cents, or 0.6%, to $27.41.

On the other hand, bundled securities tracking homebuilders were also among the biggest losers. Among individual names, D.R. Horton (DHI), KB Home (KBH) and Standard Pacific (SPF) were all lower.

The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction (ITB) was shedding 26 cents, or 1.3%, to $19.89. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB) was falling 20 cents, or 0.9%, to $21.42.

ETFs related to Asian markets were among the worst performers, despite a 2.8% rally overnight on the Chinese CSI 300 Index. Japan's Nikkei 225 eased 0.3% overnight, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.3%.

The PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China (PGJ) fell 42 cents, or 1.3%, to $33.30. The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI) was lower by $2.46, or 1.4%, to $179.63. The SPDR S&P China (GXC) was slipping $1.09, or 1.1%, to $94.03. The iShares MSCI Hong Kong Index (EWH) was down 26 cents, or 1.2%, to $20.97.