Dion's Thursday ETF Winners and Losers

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Welcome to Don Dion's Daily ETF Winners and Losers. Be sure to stop by each day to get a feel of who's winning and who's losing when it comes to ETFs.

Winners

iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund (TUR) 4.7%

TUR is seeing a welcomed jump higher, putting an end to the fund's near uninterrupted decline since late February.

The political tension sweeping the Middle East and North Africa has weighed heavily on the performance of the Turkey ETF. As tensions flare across neighboring countries, TUR will likely continue to struggle.

iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index Fund (ECH) 3.4%

Emerging markets have run into turmoil reminding investors of their volatile nature. On Thursday, however, this class of nations is scoring strong gains. ECH is among the biggest winner while the iShares S&P India Nifty 50 Index Fund (INDY), Global X China Consumer ETF (CHIQ) and the iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund (EWY) are also heading higher.

iShares S&P Small Cap 600 Index Fund (IJR) 2.6%

Market strength is instilling some confidence back into the hearts of investors. Because small-cap companies tend to behave in a more volatile fashion than industry leaders, a fund like IJR is attractive for those with an increasing appetite for risk.

IJR's assets are spread widely across its expansive index so that the fund's performance is not influenced by a single holding.

Losers

iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (VXX) -4.8%

The markets appear to have found some footing on Thursday, helped higher by an optimistic private sector jobs report and a round of strong retail sales numbers.

This upward action is pressuring the fear-based VIX, leading VXX and iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid Term Futures ETF (VXZ) to suffer losses and lead the losers.

Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) -1.6%

Gold has run up recently as political tensions in the developing world weigh on investor confidence.

A strong trading day, however, has placed pressure on this yellow metal and the companies responsible for unearthing it.

Looking forward, I urge investors to maintain exposure to gold. Despite today's promising action, the threat of economic turmoil persists. This precious metal provides a source of protection for when headwinds crop up.

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