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 S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN
(VXX) - Get Report
3.3%
Worrisome reports out of China and Europe helped the markets get off on a shaky note. The downward action has persisted even after this week's initial jobless claims report noted another decline. VXX's strength marks the ETN's first day of gains in six sessions.
CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust
(FXY) - Get Report
1.2%
As major stock market indices slide, investors are venturing back into safe haven asset classes. This strength is encouraging for investors with exposure to FXY. After weeks of stumbling, the fund appears to be showing signs of stabilizing. In the event that jitters persist, the yen could be in for additional upside action.
The yen is not alone in pushing higher. ETFs linked to the nation's equity markets are also seeing slight gains. The
MAXIS Nikkei 225 Index Fund
(NKY)
is up over 0.3%.
Losers
iPath Dow Jones UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN
(GAZ) - Get Report
-4.7%
ETFs and ETNs linked to natural gas are sliding into the second half of the trading week, weighed down by reignited investor fears. GAZ and FCG are both off around 4% heading into the close. However, GAZ's losses can be partially attributed to the ETN's premium.
Other components of the energy spectrum are taking lumps. A three-day slide has caused the
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF
(XOP) - Get Report
to revisit its 50-day moving average. The futures-tracking
United States Oil Fund
(USO) - Get Report
is also suffering losses.
ETFS Physical Palladium Shares
(PALL) - Get Report
-4.6%
Growth fears are weighing heavily on industry linked metals. As the bullion-backed palladium ETF slides to its lowest level since the middle of January, miners are also taking a shot across the bow. The
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF
(XME) - Get Report
is off over 3% during mid-day trading.
Despite its designation as a safe haven, gold is offering little protection from today's downturn. Shares of the
iShares Gold Trust
(IAU) - Get Report
are off nearly 0.5%.
Market Vectors India Small Cap Index ETF
(SCIF) - Get Report
-4.2%
The inherent volatility of small cap emerging market ETFs has shown through in recent weeks as SCIF has wavered back and forth between the winners and losers list. These losses have caused the fund to revisit its March lows. Large cap India ETFs including the
WisdomTree India Earnings ETF
(EPI) - Get Report
and the
PowerShares India Portfolio
(PIN) - Get Report
are carving out new lows for the month.
All prices as of 2:10 PM DST.
Written by Don Dion in Williamstown, Mass.
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At the time of publication, Dion Money Management owned iShares Gold Trust.
