Thursday's ETF Winners & Losers

Exchange-traded funds tracking Asian markets were among the best performers Thursday, as indices in Japan, China, Hong Kong and Indonesia rose overnight.

Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both soared 2.4% overnight, China's CSI 300 Index gained 1.2%, and Indonesia's Jakarta Index added 0.8%.

The PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China (PGJ Quote) rose 63 cents, or 1.9%, to $33.42. The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI Quote) was higher by $3.03, or 1.7%, to $179.09. The iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ Quote) was up 23 cents, or 1.6%, to $14.26. The SPDR S&P China (GXC Quote) was adding $1.56, or 1.7%, to $93.85.

Bundled securities following the financial sector were also higher, as enthusiasm for Bear Stearns (BSC Quote) carried over from the previous session. Last time out, Bear Stearns fueled a rally in financials after rumors swirled that billionaire investor Warren Buffett was interested in buying a stake in the investment bank.

The WisdomTree International Financial (DRF Quote) was gaining 57 cents, or 2%, to $28.98. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker-Dealers (IAI Quote) was up 38 cents, or 0.7%, to $52.06. The Ultra Financials ProShares (UYG Quote) was rising 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $57.09. The KBW Regional Banking (KRE Quote) added 7 cents, or 0.2%, to $44.50.

Once again, the United States Natural Gas (UNG Quote) ETF was the worst decliner of the session, as natural gas futures declined after a bearish report on natural gas inventories. Natural gas fell 21 cents to $6.83 per million British thermal units. The ETF was lower by $1.33, or 3.4%, to $37.95.

Biotech-related ETFs were also among the worst performers. Shares of Biogen Idec (BIIB Quote), CV Therapeutics (CVTX Quote) and Human Genome Sciences (HGSI Quote) all were sliding.

The PowerShares Dynamic Biotech & Genome (PBE Quote) was off 35 cents, or 1.8%, to $19.40. The First Trust Amex Biotechnology Index (FBT Quote) lost 28 cents, or 1.1%, to $25.57. The SPDR S&P Biotech (XBI Quote) was down 32 cents, or 0.6%, to $58.05.