Welcome to Don Dion's Daily ETF Winners and Losers. Be sure to stop by each day to get a feel of who's winning and who's losing when it comes to ETFs.
Winners
ETFS Physical Palladium Shares ( PALL) 3% A strong report from Autoliv ( ALV) and Ford ( F) are providing the U.S. automotive industry with a welcomed dose of confidence. Two beneficiaries to a strong auto industry are platinum and palladium which are used extensively in the production of catalytic converters. Appropriately, PALL and ETFS Physical Platinum Shares ( PPLT) are both jumping today. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF ( XHB) 2.1% For the second day in a row the homebuilders are scoring strong gains and earning a spot among the ETF industry's biggest winners. On Friday, XHB's top holding, A.O. Smith ( AOS) jumped more than 2% after announcing that it was preparing to raise its quarterly dividend by 8%. iShares MSCI All Peru Capped Index Fund ( EPU) 1.3% Peru's markets are moving today due to broad strength in the materials industry as well as an optimistic outlook for the Latin American region. EPU's index is designed to track a basket of companies which are representative of the broad Peruvian markets. Cia de Minas Buenaventura ( BVN) and Southern Copper ( SCCO) together represent more than 30% of the fund, making it an interesting global materials proxy. Other materials-heavy ETFs moving higher today include Materials Select Sector SPDR ( XLB) and iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund ( EWA).Losers
iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN ( VXX) -1.8% The overall impact of revealing the results of the EU's stress tests was minimal and investors appear to again be focused on the slew of optimistic earnings results coming from strong companies. Interestingly, while VXX is taking a hit today, iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN ( VXZ) is avoiding negative territory. iShares MSCI Israel Investable Market Index Fund ( EIS) 1.5% Weakness from generic drug giant Teva Pharmaceuticals ( TEVA) is EIS lower into the end of the week. The drug maker is reeling after competitor Novartis ( NVS) received approval to produce a generic version of Sanofi Aventis' blood thinner, Lovenox. Teva is also working on a generic version of the drug. iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund ( TUR) -0.5% Shares of TUR have staged an impressive rally since the start of July and are currently nearing previous 2010 highs. However, on Friday, the upward momentum hit a roadblock, sending the ETF lower. Turkey remains an interesting nation to watch due to the fact that its markets don't typically move in lock step with those of the rest of the global economy. iShares MSCI Sweden Index Fund ( EWD) -0.4% The EU announced the results of its sweeping stress test and the Swedish markets are feeling some of the greatest pressure. Pushing EWD lower is top holding Ericsson ( ERIC), down more than 5% today after coming up short on its second-quarter earnings report. ERIC accounts for 13% of the fund's total portfolio. All prices as of 2:15 PM EST -- Written by Don Dion in Williamstown, Mass.
