Winners & Losers

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

The PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bearish (UDN Quote) 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 Quote), KB Home (KBH Quote) and Standard Pacific (SPF Quote) were all lower.

The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction (ITB Quote) was shedding 26 cents, or 1.3%, to $19.89. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB Quote) 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 Quote) fell 42 cents, or 1.3%, to $33.30. The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI Quote) was lower by $2.46, or 1.4%, to $179.63. The SPDR S&P China (GXC Quote) was slipping $1.09, or 1.1%, to $94.03. The iShares MSCI Hong Kong Index (EWH Quote) was down 26 cents, or 1.2%, to $20.97.