Dion's Thursday ETF Winners and Losers

VXX is on a three-day winning streak, up another 2.4% heading into the close.

Author:: Don Dion
Publish date:: Mar 29, 2012 3:04 PM EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Welcome to Don Dion's "ETF Winners and Losers." Be sure to stop by throughout the week to find out which ETFs are gaining or losing.

Winners

iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN

(VXX) - Get Report

2.4%

A mixed earnings showing from

Best Buy

(BBY) - Get Report

and a string of uninspiring economic reports has helped to muddle investor confidence. As indices head lower, the fear index and ETNs like VXX are seeing a bounce. The past three days of upward action marks VXX's longest winning streak since early February.

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare Providers Index Fund

(IHF) - Get Report

1.2%

Since bottoming in October 2011, IHF has staged a multi-month rally that has helped it recover toward all-time highs. On Thursday, top holdings including

UnitedHealth Group

(UNH) - Get Report

Aetna

(AET)

and

Cigna

(CI) - Get Report

were leading the pack.

Despite targeting a noncyclical sector like health care, IHF's top-heavy portfolio may leave it vulnerable to a shakeup. UNH alone accounts for more than 12% of its assets.

Currency Shares Japanese Yen Trust

(FXY) - Get Report

0.6%

The Japanese yen and long-term U.S. treasuries stand out as some of the few winners to come from this choppy trading session. The

iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund

(TLT) - Get Report

has managed to stage a nice bounce off its 200-day moving average. In the near term, it will be interesting to see if the strong spell continues.

Losers

iPath Dow Jones UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN

(GAZ) - Get Report

-6.9%

The GAZ bubble continues to deflate as the weekend approaches. The ETN's recent string of losses has caused it to retreat to levels last seen prior to its February run-up. Despite this selloff, GAZ's premium still stands at more than 60%.

The futures-tracking

United States Natural Gas Fund

(UNG) - Get Report

is also taking lumps. Today's losses have pushed the fund to all-time lows.

Global X Uranium ETF

(URA) - Get Report

-3.6%

A three-day string of losses has pushed the URA to its lowest level since mid-January. The nuclear industry isn't the only corner of the alternative energy sector that is taking a hit, though. The

Guggenheim Solar ETF

(TAN) - Get Report

is following up yesterday's steep decline with another round of losses.

iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund

(EWI) - Get Report

-2.8%

A broad collection of international ETFs can be found toward the top of the losers list. In addition to EWI, investors are watching Asia-linked funds like the

iShares MSCI Hong Kong Index Fund

(EWH) - Get Report

, the

iShares MSCI Taiwan Index Fund

(EWT) - Get Report

and the

Market Vectors Vietnam ETF

(VNM) - Get Report

head lower.

All prices as of 2:10 PM DST

Written by Don Dion in Williamstown, Mass.

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