Friday's ETF Winners & Losers

Exchange-traded funds tracking Asian markets were among the best performers Friday, as indices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia rose overnight.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.6%, Taiwan's Taiex Index gained 1.4%, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5% and Thailand's Stock Exchange finished up 2%.

The

PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China

(PGJ)

rose 89 cents, or 2.9%, to $31.32. The

iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index

(FXI)

was higher by $5.20, or 3.2%, to $168.79. The

SPDR S&P China

(GXC)

was adding $2.36, or 2.8%, to $88.28. The

iShares MSCI Taiwan Index

(EWT)

was up 37 cents, or 2.3%, to $16.37.

Technology- and software-related ETFs were also on the rise thanks to software developer

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(ORCL)

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The

Ultra Technology ProShares

(ROM)

ETF was up $1.53, or 1.9%, to $84. The

Software HOLDRs

(SWH)

gained 42 cents, or 1%, to $42.95. The

iShares S&P GSTI Software

(IGV)

rose 33 cents, or 0.7%, to $49.28. The

PowerShares Dynamic Software

(PSJ)

was higher by 12 cents, or 0.6%, to $19.91.

Bundled securities tracking chipmakers were also on the rise. Earlier,

Texas Instruments

(TXN)

raised its dividend by 25% to 10 cents a share. TI also added a buyback of up to $5 billion in stock.

The

Ultra Semiconductor ProShares

(USD)

gained $1.96, or 2.3%, to $89.36. The

Semiconductor HOLDRs

(SMH)

was recently up 50 cents, or 1.3%, to $38.79. The

PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors

(PSI)

added 16 cents, or 0.9%, to $18.95.

On the other hand, ETFs following gold stocks were among the worst performers after Merrill Lynch downgraded

Barrick Gold

(ABX)

to neutral from buy, citing valuation. The firm also cut

Agnico-Eagle Mines

(AEM)

to neutral from buy.

The

Market Vectors Gold Miners

(GDX)

ETF was lower by 40 cents, or 0.9%, to $45.42. The

PowerShares DB Gold

(DGL)

eased by 18 cents, or 0.6%, to $28.69. The

iShares Comex Gold Trust

(IAU)

was off 42 cents, or 0.6%, to $72.40. The

streetTRACKS Gold Shares

(GLD)

ETF shed 32 cents, or 0.4%, to $72.40.