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
iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN
(VXX) - Get Report
1.4%
Today's market stumble is helping the VIX-based ETNs erase Wednesday's losses and head higher. Although, looking at VXX's performance over the past few days, one may believe that the fund is showing signs of stabilization, I would advise investors to avoid getting caught up with this product or the
iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN
(VXZ) - Get Report
.
Both VXX and VXZ have struggled to perform as expected in recent months, tumbling even as market volatility persists. If we are due for a leg higher these funds will likely get battered.
iPath Dow Jones UBS Copper Total Return Subindex ETN
(JJC) - Get Report
1.1%
Despite today's choppy market action, copper prices are finding room to power higher, lifting JJC to levels last seen in late 2008.
Like other basic materials, copper will perform well as global economies continue along the road to recovery. Investors looking for the most stable play on this market region should stick to
PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund
(DBB) - Get Report
. DBB tracks an equally weighted basket of copper, aluminum and zinc futures contracts.
Losers
iPath Dow Jones UBS Sugar Total Return Subindex ETN
(SGG) - Get Report
-12.3%
After three consecutive days of gains, the sugar-based SGG is taking a hit, reversing back to levels seen midway through last week.
Over the past few months, supply concerns from Pakistan have helped lift the sweetener along its uninterrupted path. Recently, however, the nation's interior minister warned hoarders that if they do not release the sugar into the markets in two days, legal action would be taken.
Investors will want to keep an eye on how this issue develops. If the industry sees a large supply injection, prices could tumble.
Guggenheim Solar Energy ETF
(TAN) - Get Report
-3.5%
Weakness from the U.S. and macroeconomic concerns stemming from the European Union are weighing on the solar energy industry. TAN, which provides investors exposure to this slice of the alternative energy sector, is tumbling.
TAN will be strong heading into the close of 2010 if the U.S. markets can continue to head higher. However, investors need to maintain a close watch on its performance.
United States Natural Gas Fund
(UNG) - Get Report
-2.7%
Natural gas prices are following up Wednesday's losses with another day of pain. In response to this recent run of shaky performances, UNG has undone a large portion of its gains in the past few days.
iPath Dow Jones UBS Natural Gas Total Return Subindex ETN
(GAZ) - Get Report
is facing pressure today as well, slipping 1.3%.
iShares S&P North American Technology-Multimedia Networking Index Fund
(IGN) - Get Report
-1.8%
IGN's heavy dedication to
Cisco
(CSCO) - Get Report
is weighing on heavily on the fund's performance today. After announcing disappointing earnings Wednesday afternoon, the tech bellwether got slammed, tumbling over 15% in late morning trading.
CSCO is IGN's fourth largest holding, accounting for close to 8% of its total portfolio.
All prices as of 2:15 PM EST
Written by Don Dion in Williamstown, Mass.
At the time of publication, Dion Money Management was not long any of the equities mentioned.
Don Dion is president and founder of
, a fee-based investment advisory firm to affluent individuals, families and nonprofit organizations, where he is responsible for setting investment policy, creating custom portfolios and overseeing the performance of client accounts. Founded in 1996 and based in Williamstown, Mass., Dion Money Management manages assets for clients in 49 states and 11 countries. Dion is a licensed attorney in Massachusetts and Maine and has more than 25 years' experience working in the financial markets, having founded and run two publicly traded companies before establishing Dion Money Management.
Dion also is publisher of the Fidelity Independent Adviser family of newsletters, which provides to a broad range of investors his commentary on the financial markets, with a specific emphasis on mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. With more than 100,000 subscribers in the U.S. and 29 other countries, Fidelity Independent Adviser publishes six monthly newsletters and three weekly newsletters. Its flagship publication, Fidelity Independent Adviser, has been published monthly for 11 years and reaches 40,000 subscribers.
