Dion's Friday 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

Global X Uranium ETF (URA) 8.8%

The battered uranium industry is enjoying a bounce as we head into the weekend, helping both URA and Market Vectors Nuclear Energy+Uranium ETF (NLR) score a spot among the ETF industry's biggest gainers.

The industry will remain volatile as we head into the next week as Japan continues to take steps to contain its nuclear crisis.

Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) 3.7%

Gold miners are heading higher, boosted by both broad market strength and positive action from the yellow metal. The physically-based iShares Gold Trust (IAU) is up in early afternoon trading as well.

Other components of the precious metals industry are benefiting as well. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) is locking in promising gains.

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DXJ) 3.7%

Although Japan's market is ending the week on a positive note, the decision to intervene in the currency markets is causing ETFs targeting this nation to deviate considerably. The weakened yen is pressuring the iShares MSCI Japan Fund (EWJ), allowing DXJ, which hedges against currency fluctuation, to take the lead.

The Japanese marketplace remains a wildly volatile region of globe as the nation takes steps to recover.

Losers

CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (FXY) -2.3%

The yen, which rose sharply the past week as droves of investors sought exposure to the currency to protect against market turmoil, was stifled heading into the weekend after the Japanese government, fearing the impact of a strong currency, intervened.

Looking to the near future, FXY will likely continue to be a closely watched region of the currency markets.

iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (VXX) -2.1%

The market's strong finish to this week is causing the fear-based VIX ETNs to slip.

VXX and the iPath S&P 500 VIX MidTerm Futures ETN (VXZ) will likely remain on the radar given the political and economic headwinds around the globe. Despite the popularity of these funds, long-term conservative investors should continue to avoid them.

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