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
Market Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index ETF
(REMX) - Get Report
2.3%
Once again, the rare earth metals industry is taking center stage in response to China's plans to pare back exports. This news is sending REMX constituents including
Molycorp
(MCP)
and
Rare Element Resources
(REE)
higher.
Rare earth metals are used extensively in personal gadgets such as the
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
iPad. These commodities are sure to be exciting to watch.
Global X/Interbolsa FTSE Columbia 20 Index ETF
(GXG) - Get Report
1.0%
GXG and the
iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index Fund
(ECH) - Get Report
are heading higher today.
Throughout 2010, Latin America has been a region of the globe which has managed to fly under the radar. As we look to the new year and maintain focus on the economic issues facing China and Europe, nations such as Chile, Mexico and Brazil will be interesting to watch.
iPath Dow Jones UBS Copper Total Return Subindex ETN
(JJC) - Get Report
1.5%
Copper prices are heading higher on Thursday, leading the JJC to noticeable gains. The red metal is powering upward today, flirting with new records in response to promising economic data from China.
As we head into the new year, investors will want to keep an eye on this and other base metals. Demand from emerging markets such as China will be a major driver to these materials.
Losers
iPath Dow Jones UBS Sugar Total Return Subindex ETN
(SGG) - Get Report
-10.1%
Sugar prices are tumbling today, leading SGG to a substantial loss. Broader ag ETFs such as
PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund
(DBA) - Get Report
are feeling the pressure from this selloff, though to a lesser extent. Due to its broad diversification, DBA is well suited to combat falls such as this. The fund sets aside only a small percentage of its index to the sweetener.
Agriculture is a topic I feel will remain in the spotlight in the coming year. As developed markets around the globe continue to recover and emerging markets grow, food demand should stay strong.
United States Oil Fund
(USO) - Get Report
-1.4%
Energy futures prices are moving in opposite directions today. While USO is taking a hit, the
iPath Dow Jones UBS Natural Gas Total Return Subindex ETN
(GAZ) - Get Report
and the
United States Natural Gas Fund
(UNG) - Get Report
are relatively flat.
As the markets recover, the energy market is sure to be an attractive region to watch. However, investors would be best off opting for an equity based fund such as the
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Oil Equipment & Services Index Fund
(IEZ) - Get Report
to follow this industry.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund
(EWJ) - Get Report
-1.1%
The Asian markets are performing in a mixed fashion today. EWJ, which is designed to track the Japanese marketplace is heading lower while on the other side of the coin, the
iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund
(EWY) - Get Report
is seeing comfortable gains. The
iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund
(FXI) - Get Report
, meanwhile, is treading along in a relatively unchanged manner.
All prices as of 2:14 PM EST
Written by Don Dion in Williamstown, Mass.
At the time of publication, Dion Money Management owned iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund and PowerShares DB Agriculture 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.