This Week's ETF Winners & Losers
Precious metals-related exchange-traded funds were among the best performers of a holiday-shortened week, as prices of gold and silver jumped more than 4%.
The
streetTRACKS Gold Shares
(GLD) - Get Report
ETF finished up 4.1% to $69.25. The
iShares Comex Gold Trust
(IAU) - Get Report
ETF rose 4.1% to $69.40. The
PowerShares DB Gold
(DGL) - Get Report
ETF added 3.9% to $27.56.
Oil-related ETFs were also higher, as crude prices finished with a weekly gain of 3.6% at $76.60 a barrel.
The
Ultra Oil & Gas ProShares
(DIG) - Get Report
ETF rose 3% to $99.17. The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration Index
(IEO) - Get Report
added 3% to $56.09. The
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
(XOP) - Get Report
ETF finished up 2.5% to $44.20.
On the other hand, housing ETFs were among the worst decliners of the week. On Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index dropped 12.2% in July to a reading of 89.9, providing the latest evidence that the slowdown in housing is continuing. Over the last year, the index has fallen 16.1%.
The Mortgage Bankers Association released a report Thursday that said 5.1% of the loans in its survey were delinquent in the second quarter and that the number of dwellings entering foreclosure hit a record high. Subprime delinquencies rose to 14.82%, the highest since the second quarter of 2002.
Also,
Hovnanian
(HOV) - Get Report
posted a fiscal third-quarter loss that was worse than expected, and
Beazer Homes
(BZH) - Get Report
tumbled after word the homebuilder had received default notices for five senior notes.
The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction
(ITB) - Get Report
ETF lost 7% to $21.99. The
SPDR S&P Homebuilders
(XHB) - Get Report
ETF ended down 6.6% to $23.20.
Retail ETFs were also among the losers, despite relatively strong same-store sales results on Thursday, as the weak jobs report raised fears that consumer spending would decline.
The
PowerShares Dynamic Retail
(PMR) - Get Report
ETF shed 5.9% to $17.35. The
Retail HOLDRS
(RTH) - Get Report
was lower by 4.9% to $96.97. The
SPDR S&P Retail
(XRT) - Get Report
ETF closed down 3.9% to $37.87.