Dion's Thursday ETF Winners and Losers
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -Welcome to Don Dion's Daily ETF Winners and Losers. Be sure to stop by each day to get a feel of who's winning and who's losing when it comes to ETFs.
Winners
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index Fund
(ITB) - Get Report
3.7%
An earnings beat from luxury homebuilder
Toll Brothers
(TOL) - Get Report
is playing a part in lifting the broader industry to strong gains on Thursday. This firm is ITB's fourth largest holding, representing over 7% of the fund's total index.
Lennar
(LEN) - Get Report
, another leader today, has jumped over 7%.
Despite today's strength, I still feel it is early to consider the residential housing industry all clear. Investors looking for a more stable play on real estate should look to REIT-focused funds such as
iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund
(ICF) - Get Report
.
SPDR KBW Bank ETF
(KBE) - Get Report
3.6%
The financial industry is another region of the market heading higher today with KBE at the head of the pack. The KBW Bank Index, which underlies KBE got a nod early in the day from Goldman Sachs, which upgraded its rating to overweight.
I've consistently recommended KBE for investors looking for a way to play the financials. By tracking a collection of Wall Street giants as well as regional banks, this fund is a great catch-all for the industry.
iPath Dow Jones UBS Cotton Total Return Subindex ETN
(BAL) - Get Report
3.5%
Massive demand is leading cotton prices and the futures-based BAL higher for the fourth consecutive day in a row. Like the sugar contract-backed
iPath Dow Jones UBS Sugar Total Return Subindex ETN
(SGG) - Get Report
, BAL has had a wild ride recently, rising and falling in a rollercoaster-like fashion.
ETFS Physical Palladium Shares
(PALL) - Get Report
3.4%
Industry-linked precious metals are heading higher today, bolstered by the market's positive performance over the past two days. Base metals are also strengthening, leading the
Global X Copper Miners ETF
(COPX) - Get Report
to respectable gains.
This week, ETF Securities, the company responsible for PALL and other popular physically-based precious metals funds announced the launch of its newest product, the ETFS White Metals Basket Trust.
Like
ETFS Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares
(GLTR) - Get Report
, this new product will track a collection of precious metals including platinum, palladium and silver. Gold, however, will not be included among its holdings.
Losers
iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN
(VXX) - Get Report
-7.3%
The short-term VIX futures-linked ETF is tumbling in response to the market's upward strength. Over the past two days, VXX has managed to undo nearly all of the gains seen during last week's rally.
iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN
(VXZ) - Get Report
is faring in a similar manner as well.
Market Vectors Vietnam ETF
(VNM) - Get Report
-0.5%
Southeast Asian-focused ETFs are behaving in a mixed manner on Thursday. While the Vietnam ETF is treading in negative territory, the Indonesian marketplace is heading higher, indicated by strong performance from the
iShares MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index Fund
(EIDO) - Get Report
.
Indonesia has seen some shaky performance recently in light of the ongoing volcanic activity threatening the nation.
All prices as of 2:16 PM EST
Written by Don Dion in Williamstown, Mass.
At the time of publication, Dion Money Management owned iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund.
This commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet guest contributor program. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of TheStreet or its management.