Dion's Weekly ETF Blog Wrap

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Don Dion posts his current insights on the stock, bond, commodity and currency markets in his RealMoney blog, anticipating which ETFs will be in play next.

Here are three of his blog posts from the past week:

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Two ETF Opportunities Ahead

Published 4/21/2011 12:50 p.m. EDT

Navigating the choppy, light-volume conditions of the U.S. marketplace ahead of a long weekend can be hazardous, particularly when trading ETFs. In the ETF marketplace, the presence of plenty of buyers and sellers helps to ensure that market price lines up with underlying volume. The fewer investors there are actively trading or creating two-sided markets, the more likely it is that you'll see pricing discrepancies -- premiums and discounts.

While it looks like stocks are heading higher for now, it's a good idea to forget the aggressive trading and look forward to opportunities in the week ahead. Earnings, earnings and more earnings are set to dominate the headlines, and here are a couple of funds to keep an eye on:

The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA): Although U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan is slated to be scaled down, defense concerns and conflicts abroad continue to fuel profits for the largest U.S. defense companies. United Technologies (UTX), one of the biggest names in defense, reported better-than-expected results this week, helping to send ITA slightly higher yesterday.

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In the week ahead, half of ITA's top 10 holdings will report quarterly earnings. Longer-term concerns about U.S. budget cuts and military cutbacks may make a long-term investment risky for some, but investors who are bullish on earnings in the short term might want to consider picking up shares of ITA on Monday. Top ITA components that report next week include Boeing (BA), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), Raytheon (RTN) and General Dynamics (GD).

The First Trust Dow Jones Internet ETF (FDN): FDN, yesterday's "ETF Play of the Day," will also be a fund to watch in the week ahead. Top FDN holdings including Amazon (AMZN), eBay (EBAY), Akamai Technologies (AKAM) and Netflix (NFLX) will be reporting quarterly results next week, and technology's recent momentum could keep trending upward if numbers come in better than expected.

I continue to be very bullish on the top Internet firms as devices from companies such as Apple (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM) help consumers to access the Internet from virtually anywhere. Many of FDN's top holdings serve as hubs for web surfers, and as consumer confidence grows, advertising revenue should continue to rise.

At the time of publication, Dion Money Management was long FDN.

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