Exchange-traded funds tracking financial stocks were among the best performers this week as traders hoped -- again -- that banks are finally close to getting rid of the last of their soured assets.
The Ultra Financials ProShares (UYG) soared 12.3% for the week. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF), iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services (IYG) and Vanguard Financials (VFH) ETF added 5.9% or more. Earlier this week, both UBS (UBS) and Deutsche Bank (DB) announced they'll be taking billions more in writedowns in the first quarter, leading traders to surmise that financial firms are making a final push to get rid of those bad assets and move past the subprime calamity that has dragged down the market. Also cheering traders was news that UBS and Lehman Brothers (LEH) have set plans to raise more capital. Also doing well this week were commodities ETFs. PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (DBC) and iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) rose 1.1% and 2.1%, respectively. With crude prices rising, the Oil Services HOLDRs (OIH), PowerShares Dynamic Oil & Gas Services (PXJ) and Ultra Oil & Gas ProShares (DIG) advanced 1.4% or more. Bundled securities tracking gold-related stocks, however, took a collective slide as gold futures lost ground for the week. Over the past five trading sessions, PowerShares DB Gold (DGL) lost 2%, the iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU) shed 1.8%, and the streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD) was off 1.8%.>To order reprints of this article, click here: ReprintsTheStreet Premium Services For Personal Service: 877-471-2967
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| Dow Jones | S&P 500 | NASDAQ | 10-Year Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,801.23 | 1,342.64 | 2,903.88 | 19.69 |
Oil *
117.67
|
|
DOWN
89.23 |
DOWN
9.31 |
DOWN
23.35 |
DOWN
0.78 |
10 Yr
1.97%
SPDR Gold
167.14
|
|
-0.69%
|
-0.69%
|
-0.80%
|
-3.81%
|
Data delayed 20 minutes |
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