This Week's ETF Winners & Losers
The
United States Natural Gas
(UNG) - Get Report
exchange-traded fund was the best performer of the week as natural gas prices surged.
Prices were rising on resurfacing concerns over looming storms. Tropical Storm Ingrid was the latest to form during the height of hurricane season. Natural gas soared 14.2% over the five sessions, and the ETF climbed 15.5% to end at $39.65.
Meanwhile, retail-related ETFs benefited from advances this week in shares of
Target
(TGT) - Get Report
and
McDonald's
(MCD) - Get Report
.
Target rose on news the retailer might shed its credit card division. McDonald's jumped after saying it expects to return a total of $15 billion to $17 billion to shareholders over the next three years through dividends and share buybacks.
The
Retail HOLDRs
(RTH) - Get Report
ETF increased by 4% to $100.85. The
PowerShares Dynamic Retail
(PMR) - Get Report
ETF gained 3% to $17.88. The
SPDR S&P Retail
(XRT) - Get Report
ETF ended up 2.5% to $38.83.
Financial ETFs were also higher after troubled lender
Countrywide
(CFC)
rose 6.6% during the week thanks to obtaining $12 billion in borrowing capacity.
The
Ultra Financial ProShares
(UYG) - Get Report
ETF tacked on 4.3% to $55.29. The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker-Dealers
(IAI) - Get Report
ETF was higher by 2.8% to $50.04. The
KBW Bank
(KBE) - Get Report
ETF added 2.7% to $52.53.
On the other hand, semiconductor ETFs lost ground after
Texas Instruments
(TXN) - Get Report
offered its midquarter report. The chipmaker tightened its third-quarter financial targets, although the forecast was still near Wall Street's estimates. TI lost 1.8% for the week.
The
Ultra Semiconductor ProShares
(USD) - Get Report
ETF slumped 3.2% over the five sessions to close at $82.30. The
Semiconductor HOLDRs
(SMH) - Get Report
slid 1.8% to $37.14. The
PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductor
(PSI) - Get Report
ETF lost 1.5% to $18.01.