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
TheStreet Recommends
Oracle
(ORCL)
. The company posted a fiscal first-quarter profit that rose 26% from a year ago, beating the Thomson First Call consensus by a penny.
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.