Thursday's ETF Winners & Losers

Financial and real-estate-related exchange-traded funds were among the best performers of Thursday's session, as troubled lender Countrywide (CFC Quote) shares jumped after announcing it has obtained $12 billion in borrowing capacity.

Among real estate ETFs, the Ultra Real Estate ProShares (URE Quote) rose $1.33, or 3.1%, to $43.91. The Vanguard REIT Index (VNQ Quote) was higher by $1.30, or 1.9%, to $69.24. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate (IYR Quote) was up $1.15, or 1.6%, to $73.56.

In the financial sector, the Ultra Financial ProShares (UYG Quote) tacked on $1.53, or 2.9%, to $55.15. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker-Dealers (IAI Quote) was higher by 88 cents, or 1.8%, to $49.78. The KBW Bank (KBE Quote) ETF was adding 85 cents, or 1.7%, to $52.35.

ETFs tracking the basic materials sector also trading higher, thanks to a rally in several holdings. Among those trading higher, Nucor (NUE Quote) jumped 4.2%, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX Quote) was up 3.7% and Alcoa (AA Quote) was rising 2.6%.

The Ultra Basic Materials ProShares (UYM Quote) was climbing $2.56, or 3.2%, to $83.86. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials (IYM Quote) gained 91 cents, or 1.3%, to $68.95. The PowerShares FTSE RAFI Basic Materials (PRFM Quote) was up 84 cents, or 1.3%, to $63.73.

Retail-related ETFs benefited from advances in shares of Target (TGT Quote) and McDonald's (MCD Quote). Target rose 2.5% a day after the store said it was shopping its credit card division. McDonald's, meanwhile, climbed 5.8% after saying it expects to return a total of $15 billion to $17 billion to shareholders over the next three years through dividends and share buybacks.

The PowerShares Dynamic Retail (PMR Quote) was gaining 35 cents, or 2%, to $17.83. The Retail HOLDRs (RTH Quote) increased by $1.57, or 1.6%, to $100.06. The SPRD S&P Retail (XRT Quote) was up 46 cents, or 1.2%, to $38.37.

There were few losers during Thursday's winning session. The United States Natural Gas (UNG Quote) ETF was down 4.6% as natural gas fell 32 cents to $6.11 per million British thermal units. The ETF was down $1.85 to $38.10.