This Week's ETF Winners & Losers
Financial- and homebuilder-related exchange traded-funds were among the winners this week, as investors weighed a government-led plan to stave off massive foreclosures amid the ongoing housing slump and credit crunch.
President Bush on Thursday announced a multi-pronged plan developed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and mortgage industry leaders that includes freezing for five years certain subprime, adjustable rate mortgages about to reset. Bush also pledged to work with other homeowners to refinance existing loans or move into loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration.
News of the plan first leaked last Friday in a report in
The Wall Street Journal
, pushing shares of mortgage lenders higher. Lenders like
Countrywide Financial
( CFC) and
Citigroup
( FRE) continued to advance throughout the past week as more details of the plan emerged.
The
Ultra Financial ProShares
(UYG) - Get ProShares Ultra Financials Report
ETF edged higher 0.8% to $47.09. The
Financial Select Sector SPDR
(XLF) - Get Financial Select Sector SPDR Report
ETF rose 0.8% to $31.25. The
TheStreet Recommends
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker-Dealers
(IAI) - Get iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers ETF Report
ETF was higher by 1% to $51.55.
Among homebuilders, the
SPDR S&P Homebuilders
(XHB) - Get SPDR Homebuilders ETF Report
ETF climbed 8.4% to $20.65. The
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction
(ITB) - Get iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF Report
ETF added 10.9% to $19.02.
The
Semiconductor HOLDRs
(SMH) - Get VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF Report
rose 3.3% in a week that saw a host of news from the chip sector, including a report that worldwide semiconductor sales rose 5% in October. Also, affirmed forecasts came from
Altera
(ALTR) - Get Altair Engineering Inc. Report
and
Xilinx
(XLNX) - Get Xilinx Inc. Report
.
National Semiconductor
(NSM)
had a disappointing revenue forecast, but the shares still had a winning week.
The
PowerShares Dynamic Hardware & Consumer Electronics
(PHW)
ETF was also stronger, advancing 1.3% over the five sessions.
The
Retail HOLDRs
(RTH) - Get VanEck Vectors Retail ETF Report
was up 1.6% during a week that saw shaky results from parts of the chain-store sector.
Quarterly profits plunged at
Chico's
(CHS) - Get Chico's FAS Inc. Report
, and November same-store sales were mixed for a month that included the start of the important holiday shopping season. Still, the retail group overall had gains.
