Thursday's ETF Winners & Losers

Real estate- and utility-related funds are among the wounded as rising bond yields drive down stocks.

Author:: TSC Staff
Publish date:: Jun 7, 2007 1:17 PM EDT

Exchange-traded funds tracking real estate slumped along with the larger market Thursday, as rising mortgage rates and more pessimism from homebuilders weighed on the sector.

Rates on 30-year mortgages rose a fourth straight week to the highest level in 10 months. Moreover, homebuilder

Meritage Homes

(MTH) - Get Report

on late Wednesday became the most recent company to cut full-year guidance amidst the continuing housing doldrums.

Ultra Real Estate ProShares

(URE) - Get Report

was sinking $2.75, or 4.6%, to $56.85. The

iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors

(ICF) - Get Report

was falling $2.48, or 2.5%, to $97.67.

SPDR Homebuilders

(XHB) - Get Report

was off 78 cents, or 2.3%, to $33.37.

Utility-related funds also continued to suffer due to rising bond yields. Utility stocks, normally attractive to investors for their steady dividends, become less so as bonds gain favor -- as they are doing now, with yields of more than 5% for the first time since August.

Both

Exelon

(EXC) - Get Report

and

PG&E

(PCG) - Get Report

were off more than 2%.

The

Ultra Utilities ProShares

(UPW) - Get Report

was losing $3.43, or 4.1%, to $80.33.

Utilities HOLDRs

(UTH)

was sinking $3.74, or 2.6%, to $40.10. The

iShares Dow Jones US Utilities

(IDU) - Get Report

was losing $2.35, or 2.4%, to $96.31.

Bundled securities tracking health care stocks also were tanking.

HealthShares Infectious Diseases

(HHG)

was losing 81 cents, or 3%, to $25.86.

HealthShares Cancer

(HHK)

was losing 62 cents, or 2.2%, to $28.09.

Oil-related funds were among the session's top performers. The front-month crude contract was trading up 94 cents to $66.90 on concerns U.S. refineries cannot keep up with demand for gasoline.

PowerShares DB Oil

(DBO) - Get Report

were trading up 43 cents, or 1.6%, to $27. The

iPath Goldman Sachs Crude Oil Index

(OIL) - Get Report

ETF was advancing 64 cents, or 1.7%, to $37.42.

United States Oil

(USO) - Get Report

was increasing 60 cents, or 1.2%, to $50.90.

PowerShares DB Energy

(DBE) - Get Report

edged up 19 cents, or 0.7%, to $28.72.