Monday's ETF Winners & Losers
Exchange-traded funds tracking the retail sector were among the best performers of Monday's session, following a positive earnings forecast and strong economic data.
Before the opening bell, department store giant
Sears
(SHLD)
said its second-quarter earnings should be roughly in line with analysts' expectations. The company also said it would repurchase up to $1.5 billion more of its common stock.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.3% last month, compared with a revised 0.7% decline in June. Excluding autos, retail sales were up 0.4%. Both figures were slightly above forecasts.
The
First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX
(FXG) - Get Free Report
ETF was higher by 64 cents, or 3.4%, to $19.23. The
Ultra Consumer Services ProShares
(UCC) - Get Free Report
was up $1.57, or 2.5%, to $63.30. The
PowerShares Dynamic Retail
(PMR) - Get Free Report
climbed 44 cents, or 2.5%, to $18.25.
The
Wireless HOLDRs
(WMH)
was also among the winners, thanks to gains of 3% or more in holdings
Sprint Nextel
(S) - Get Free Report
,
Qualcomm
(QCOM) - Get Free Report
and
Research In Motion
(RIMM)
. The ETF was adding $1.89, or 2.9%, to $67.20.
Bundled securities that track overseas activity were gaining ground after several central banks worldwide bought more securities, injecting funds into the banking system. The European Central Bank has put another $65 billion into its system, and the Bank of Japan has contributed an additional $5 billion. Global equity measures gained ground after the actions. Tokyo's Nikkei was up 0.2%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.5%. London's FTSE surged 3%, and Frankfurt's DAX climbed 1.8%.
The
PowerShares Dynamic Europe
(PEH)
was rising by 61 cents, or 2.6%, to $23.83. The
SPDR S&P World ex-U.S.
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was up 62 cents, or 2%, to $32.15. The
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index
(EEM) - Get Free Report
added $2.30, or 1.8%, to $129.85.
On the other hand, housing-related ETFs continued to crumble. Early Monday, homebuilder
Hovnanian
(HOV) - Get Free Report
said it delivered 3,179 homes in the third quarter, a decline of 31% from the year-ago period. More than 2,500 contracts were signed, but that was down 24% from last year.
In addition to Hovnanian,
D.R. Horton
(DHI) - Get Free Report
,
Lennar
(LEN) - Get Free Report
,
Toll Brothers
(TOL) - Get Free Report
and
Centex
(CTX)
were all losing 3.5% or more.
The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction
(ITB) - Get Free Report
was falling by $1.40, or 5.1%, to $26. The
SPDR S&P Homebuilders
(XHB) - Get Free Report
was down 99 cents, or 3.7%, to $26.07.