Wednesday's ETF Winners & Losers
Several interest rate-sensitive exchange-traded funds were rallying Wednesday, one day after the
Federal Reserve
cut rates by a surprising 50 basis points.
Among bundled securities tracking real estate, the
First Trust S&P REIT
(FRI) - Get Report
ETF jumped $1.10, or 6.2%, to $18.88. The
Ultra Real Estate ProShares
(URE) - Get Report
was up $2.10, or 4.5%, to $49.30. The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate
(IYR) - Get Report
rose $1.86, or 2.4%, to $78.11.
Bundled securities tracking basic materials were also among the best performers, thanks to gains by
Alcoa
(AA) - Get Report
,
Freeport McMoRan
(FCX) - Get Report
,
Monsanto
(MON)
and
Nucor
(NUE) - Get Report
.
The
Ultra Basic Materials ProShares
(UYM) - Get Report
was up $4.22, or 4.6%, to $95.21. The
Vanguard Materials
(VAW) - Get Report
ETF rose $1.89, or 2.2%, to $87.19. The
PowerShares FTSE RAFI Basic Materials
(PRFM)
ETF was adding $1.48, or 2.3%, to $67.37. The
Materials Select Sector SPDR
(XLB) - Get Report
was higher by 78 cents, or 1.9%, to $42.08.
Financial ETFs, which slumped due to liquidity problems and tightening credit markets, rallied thanks to the interest rate cut. Embattled finance concerns, including
Countrywide
(CFC)
, were on the rise Wednesday.
The
Ultra Financials ProShares
(UYG) - Get Report
gained $1.21, or 2.1%, to $60.21. The
Financial Select Sector SPDR
(XLF) - Get Report
was up 44 cents, or 1.3%, to $35.37. The
Vanguard Financials
(VFH) - Get Report
ETF was advancing by 59 cents, or 1 %, to $62.71. The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Sector
(IYF) - Get Report
was adding $1.14, or 1%, to $112.80.
Home construction-related ETFs were also gaining ground.
D.R. Horton
(DHI) - Get Report
,
Lennar
(LEN) - Get Report
,
Centex
(CTX)
and
Beazer Homes
(BZH) - Get Report
were all jumping by 3.5% or more.
The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction
(ITB) - Get Report
was up 69 cents, or 2.8%, to $24.62. The
SPDR S&P Homebuilders
(XHB) - Get Report
was climbing 53 cents, or 2.1%, to $25.38.
Once again, the
United States Natural Gas
(UNG) - Get Report
was the worst decliner of the session as natural gas futures fell 31 cents to $6.26 per million British thermal units. The ETF was lower by $1.26, or 3.2%, to $38.68.