Friday's ETF Winners & Losers

Exchange-traded funds tracking Asian markets were among the best performers Friday, as indices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia rose overnight.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.6%, Taiwan's Taiex Index gained 1.4%, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5% and Thailand's Stock Exchange finished up 2%.

The PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China (PGJ Quote) rose 89 cents, or 2.9%, to $31.32. The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI Quote) was higher by $5.20, or 3.2%, to $168.79. The SPDR S&P China (GXC Quote) was adding $2.36, or 2.8%, to $88.28. The iShares MSCI Taiwan Index (EWT Quote) was up 37 cents, or 2.3%, to $16.37.

Technology- and software-related ETFs were also on the rise thanks to software developer Oracle (ORCL Quote). The company posted a fiscal first-quarter profit that rose 26% from a year ago, beating the Thomson First Call consensus by a penny.

The Ultra Technology ProShares (ROM Quote) ETF was up $1.53, or 1.9%, to $84. The Software HOLDRs (SWH Quote) gained 42 cents, or 1%, to $42.95. The iShares S&P GSTI Software (IGV Quote) rose 33 cents, or 0.7%, to $49.28. The PowerShares Dynamic Software (PSJ Quote) was higher by 12 cents, or 0.6%, to $19.91.

Bundled securities tracking chipmakers were also on the rise. Earlier, Texas Instruments (TXN Quote) raised its dividend by 25% to 10 cents a share. TI also added a buyback of up to $5 billion in stock.

The Ultra Semiconductor ProShares (USD Quote) gained $1.96, or 2.3%, to $89.36. The Semiconductor HOLDRs (SMH Quote) was recently up 50 cents, or 1.3%, to $38.79. The PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors (PSI Quote) added 16 cents, or 0.9%, to $18.95.

On the other hand, ETFs following gold stocks were among the worst performers after Merrill Lynch downgraded Barrick Gold (ABX Quote) to neutral from buy, citing valuation. The firm also cut Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM Quote) to neutral from buy.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX Quote) ETF was lower by 40 cents, or 0.9%, to $45.42. The PowerShares DB Gold (DGL Quote) eased by 18 cents, or 0.6%, to $28.69. The iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU Quote) was off 42 cents, or 0.6%, to $72.40. The streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD Quote) ETF shed 32 cents, or 0.4%, to $72.40.