Monday's ETF Winners & Losers

Retail-focused funds were among Monday's top performers.

Author:
Robert Holmes
Publish date:
Aug 13, 2007 1:20 PM EDT

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