Friday's ETF Winners & Losers
The
United States Natural Gas
(UNG) - Get Report
exchanged-traded fund was one of the best performers Friday, thanks to a surge in natural gas prices.
Prices were rising on resurfacing concerns over looming storms. Tropical storm Ingrid was the latest to form during the height of hurricane season. Recently, natural gas jumped 27 cents to $6.30 per million British thermal units. The ETF was climbing 98 cents, or 2.6%, to $38.88.
ETFs tracking Asian markets were also among the best performers Friday, as Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.5% and China's CSI 300 Index gained 0.9%.
The
SPDR S&P China
(GXC) - Get Report
was adding $1.36, or 1.7%, to $82.36. The
iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index
(FXI) - Get Report
was higher by $2.37, or 1.5%, to $156.05. The
PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China
(PGJ) - Get Report
rose 39 cents, or 1.4%, to $28.49. The
iShares MSCI Hong Kong Index
(EWH) - Get Report
was up 17 cents, or 0.9%, to $20.10.
Homebuilder-related bundled securities were also rising.
D.R. Horton
(DHI) - Get Report
,
Lennar
(LEN) - Get Report
,
Hovnanian
(HOV) - Get Report
and
Toll Brothers
(TOL) - Get Report
all climbed 2.2% or more.
The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction
(ITB) - Get Report
added 29 cents, or 1.4%, to $21.77. The
SPDR S&P Homebuilders
(XHB) - Get Report
was up 24 cents, or 1.1%, to $23.15.
On the other hand, ETFs tracking European bourses were losing ground after U.K. lender
Northern Rock
sought emergency funding from the Bank of England, a sign that the subprime mortgage mess was spilling into overseas markets. London's FTSE 100 was down 1.2%, the CAC 40 in Paris was off 0.5% and Germany's Xetra Dax was lower by 0.5%.
The
iShares MSCI United Kingdom Index
(EWU) - Get Report
was losing 41 cents, or 1.6%, to $24.70. The
iShares S&P Europe 350 Index
(IEV) - Get Report
was down $1.39, or 1.2%, to $112.95. The
PowerShares Dynamic Europe
(PEH)
shed 32 cents, or 1.3%, to $23.78.