Dion's Monday ETF Winners and Losers

The homebuilders ETF was rising in today's session.

Author:: Don Dion
Publish date:: Feb 27, 2012 2:52 PM EST

The homebuilders ETF was rising in today's session.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Welcome to Don Dion's "ETF Winners and Losers." Be sure to stop by throughout the week to find out which ETFs are gaining or losing.

Winners

iPath Dow Jones UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN

(GAZ) - Get Report

8.5%

The impact of the approximately 60% premium underlying GAZ can be seen at the start of the week as the ETN heads higher. At the same time that GAZ is topping the winner's list, the

United States Natural Gas Fund

(UNG) - Get Report

, which also tracks a basket of natural gas futures contracts, is locked in negative territory, dipping nearly 3%.

SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF

(XHB) - Get Report

1.7%

Warren Buffett admitted in his Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter that his recent forecasts for the housing market were "dead wrong." This billionaire investor is not ready to give up on real estate however. On the contrary, in an interview with

CNBC,

Buffett explained that if he had the ability, he would be buying up single-family homes at this time.

I still hold reservations towards the residential side of the housing sector. Investors looking to for a play on real estate should turn to a REIT-backed fund like the

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index Fund

(IYR) - Get Report

Market Vectors Vietnam ETF

(VNM) - Get Report

1.7%

The Vietnam ETF is kicking off the new week on a strong note, pushing to its seventh consecutive day of gains. With this early-week win, VNM has ascended to its September highs. As with any fast-moving ETF, however, investors should use extreme caution here. Other regions of Asia are not faring as well. The

iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund

(EWY) - Get Report

is off over 1% in early afternoon trading.

Losers

Market Vectors India Small Cap Index ETF

(SCIF) - Get Report

-4.7%

In this morning's,

"Five ETFs to Watch This Week", I warned investors to approach SCIF with extreme caution. Just as the fund rocketed higher during the opening weeks of the year, it appears to have reversed course just as dramatically. Until it finds some stable ground, this product is best watched from the sidelines.

Other India-related ETFs are also sliding at the start of the week. The

WisdomTree India Earnings ETF

(EPI) - Get Report

and

iShares S&P India Nifty 50 Index Fund

(INDY) - Get Report

are both off over 3%.

ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

(TBT) - Get Report

-2.2%

The major U.S. market indices have managed to power back from early session losses and are sitting in positive territory as we approach the end of the trading day. Despite the reversal, however, investors are unwilling to shed exposure to safe haven asset classes. As TBT tumbles lower, the

iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund

(TLT) - Get Report

is breaking back above its 50-day moving average.

iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund

(EWI) - Get Report

-1.6%

After late-week strength pushed EWI to its 50-day moving average, sellers appear to have taken over.

At the same time the troubled EU member is heading lower, non-euro bloc nations are also feeling pressure. The

iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund

(TUR) - Get Report

and the

iShares MSCI Sweden Index Fund