Thursday's ETF Winners & Losers

Exchange-traded funds tracking homebuilders were among the top performers of Friday's session. Among homebuilder names, Standard Pacific(SPF Quote) was up 2.8%, Hovnanian(HOV Quote) was adding 2.3%, Beazer Homes(BZH Quote) was higher by 2.1%, and Toll Brothers(TOL Quote) was rising 1.3%.

The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction(ITB Quote) ETF was recently up 1.4%, or 47 cents, to $34.49. The SPDR Homebuilders(XHB Quote) ETF was climbing 35 cents, or 1.1%, to $32.75.

The Biotech HOLDRs(BBH Quote) ETF was also rising. Holding Amgen(AMGN Quote) was gaining 3.2%, and the Biotech HOLDRs was recently higher by $1.53, or 0.9%, to $179.80.

Other biotech ETFs were gaining ground. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology(IBB Quote) ETF was up 1.3% to $78.42, the First Trust Amex Biotechnology Index(FBT Quote) was gaining 1.2% to $24.53, and the SPDR S&P Biotech Index(XBI Quote) was rising 1.1% to $49.73.

Also among winners, the PowerShares Lux Nanotech(PXN Quote) ETF rose as holding Altair Nanotechnologies(ALTI Quote) jumped 6.4%. The ETF was recently up 11 cents, or 0.6%, to $17.36.

On the flip side, bundled securities tracking the energy sector were among the worst performers of the day. The front-month May crude contract continued to ease a day after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad freed 15 British sailors and marines the country captured last month in the Persian Gulf. Crude prices were recently losing 34 cents at $64.04 a barrel.

The iPath Goldman Sachs Crude Oil Index(OIL Quote) ETF eased 0.8% to $37.98. The United States Oil(USO Quote) ETF was recently down 0.7% to $51.99.