Tuesday's ETF Winners & Losers

Exchange-traded funds tracking homebuilders were among the biggest decliners of a losing session Tuesday, after D.R. Horton (DHI Quote) said that market conditions declined during its fiscal third quarter.

D.R. Horton said that third-quarter home orders tumbled 40%, and it forecast a loss for the period. The company's stock fell about 3%. Other homebuilders, including Lennar (LEN Quote), Meritage Homes (MTH Quote), and KB Home (KBH Quote), fell by much more.

The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction (ITB Quote) ETF was falling by 79 cents, or 2.5%, to $30.27. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB Quote) was lower by 63 cents, or 2.1%, to $29.76.

Meanwhile, earnings warnings from retailers were pressuring ETFs tracking the sector. Home Depot (HD Quote) lowered its earnings targets for the second half, saying that the weak housing market continues to hurt its results. Sears Holdings(SHLD Quote) also warned of weak second-quarter results, noting a soft performance in June.

The PowerShares Dynamic Retail (PMR Quote) was losing 33 cents, or 1.6%, to $19.76. The SPDR S&P Retail (XRT Quote) was down 63 cents, or 1.4%, to $43.39. The Retail HOLDRs (RTH Quote) was lower by $1.15, or 1.1%, to $105.93.

Few bundled securities were on the winning side. Among those trading higher were commodity-related ETFs, as prices for crude, natural gas, gold and silver were on the rise.

The iShares Silver Trust (SLV Quote) was up $2.14, or 1.7%, to $128.94. The United States Natural Gas (UNG Quote) was adding $1.03, or 2.5%, to $42.27. The United States Oil (USO Quote) ETF rose by 49 cents, or 0.9%, to $54.84. The iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU Quote) was higher by 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $65.73.

ETFs tracking U.S. Treasury Notes were also moving higher, as bond prices jumped ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on inflation before the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Mass. The 10-year note was up 16/32 in price to yield 5.08%, while the 30-year bond was adding 30/32 and yielding 5.17%

The iShares Lehman 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT Quote) was adding 76 cents, or 0.9%, to $84.54. The Vanguard Long-Term Bond (BLV Quote) was higher by 55 cents, or 0.8%, to $72.70. The iShares Lehman 10-20 Year Treasury Bond (TLH Quote) ETF was up 75 cents, or 0.8%, to $97.21.