Dion's Weekly ETF Winners and Losers

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The stock market rebounded off its dismal end-of-October showing, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each up 3.2% for the week. Unemployment climbed above 10%, as monthly jobless claims improved slightly. Even if job losses come to a standstill, job creation is needed to reduce unemployment, but so far the employment picture remains one of the worst parts of the economic landscape.

Investors pushed up the value of hard assets and materials producers, however, as optimism prevailed. Warren Buffett's "all-in" bet on the U.S. -- his purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe(BNI) railroad -- helped lift the market, with the Dow Jones Transportation Index up 6.6% for the week and the ETF of that index, iShares Dow Jones U.S. Transportation(IYT), up 6.5%.

Here are the week's winners and losers.

Winners

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF(GDX) +12.4%

PowerShares DB Silver Fund(DBS) +6.3%

iShares Silver Trust(SLV) +6.3%

This week saw a strong showing from precious metals. Silver and gold ETFs surged as fears of inflation and volatility caused investors to move toward safer holdings. Fear of continued dollar weakness also helped gold prices hit record highs above $1,100 per ounce. On this news, gold miner ETFs rallied to the top of our list.

Market Vectors Coal ETF(KOL) +8.1%

Market Vectors Steel ETF(SLX) +7.3%

The coal and steel ETFs were other big gainers this week. Positive performance from these sectors is a strong signal that the economic crisis is continuing to heal. While oversupply continues to pain Chinese steel makers, others nations' industries are seeing a lift.

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