This Week's ETF Winners & Losers

Funds tracking financials were among the biggest winners.

Author:: Robert Holmes
Publish date:: Nov 30, 2007 5:12 PM EST

Financial-related exchange traded-funds were among best performers during the last week of November, as dovish comments from the

Federal Reserve

and a possible freeze on adjustable-rate mortgages boosted related stocks.

Citigroup

was the focus Tuesday, after the company said it will receive a $7.5 billion cash injection by selling a stake in the firm to an entity controlled by the government of Abu Dhabi.

On Wednesday, Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said policymakers need to be "flexible and pragmatic" in order to deal with the uncertainty in the economy and financial arena, bolstering hopes for those who want to see the Fed reduce rates again.

After Thursday's close, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed Kohn's remarks, suggesting that the U.S. housing slump and recent turmoil in the markets may be hitting economic growth.

Meanwhile, shares of

Countrywide

(CFC)

Freddie Mac

(FRE)

and other lenders surged on Friday after a report in

The Wall Street Journal

said that the U.S. government and lenders were working on an agreement that would temporarily freeze rates on some adjustable-rate mortgage loans made to borrowers with weak credit.

The

Ultra Financial ProShares

(UYG) - Get Report

ETF jumped 10.7% to $46.50. The

Financial Select Sector SPDR

(XLF) - Get Report

ETF rose 5.9% to $31. The

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker-Dealers

(IAI) - Get Report

ETF was higher by 3.8% to $50.73.

ETFs tracking homebuilders were also among the best advancers, thanks to the rumors of the deal to keep adjustable rate mortgages from resetting to higher levels for some consumers.

For the week, the

SPDR S&P Homebuilders

(XHB) - Get Report

ETF climbed 3% to $18.84. The

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction

(ITB) - Get Report

ETF added 1.6% to $17.17.

On the other hand, energy-related ETFs were among the worst performers, as crude sank below $89 a barrel. Oil prices dropped 9.6% for the week, ending at $88.71 a barrel.

The

iPath S&P GSCI Crude Oil Index

(OIL) - Get Report

shed 9.2% to $51.55. The

United States Oil

(USO) - Get Report

lost 9.1% to $69.75. The

PowerShares DB Oil

(DBO) - Get Report

was down 6.8% to $33.18.

Bundled securities tracking gold futures were also lower over the five sessions. Gold futures slumped 5.1% for the week to close at $789.10 an ounce.

The