Dion’s Wednesday ETF Winners and Losers
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
iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index Fund(ECH) 2.0%
Chile’s markets treading higher today, sending ECH to all-time highs. This fund has been roaring higher since bouncing off its 50-day moving average at the start of July.
Latin America remains an attractive region of the globe as Europe and Asia continue to face their own respective economic headwinds.
PowerShares DB Base Metals ETF(DBB) 1.1%
Base metals are scoring their second consecutive day of gains with copper leading the way. Investors looking for exposure to this red metal should check out iPath Dow Jones-UBS Copper Total Return Subindex ETN(JJC), which is up 1.6%.
Other base metal and materials funds heading higher include SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF(XME), Market Vectors Steel ETF(SLX) and Market Vectors Coal ETF(KOL).
Investors playing this industry should continue to keep a close watch on China. This nation represents a large portion of the world’s base material demand and will likely influence these commodities’ direction.
SPDR S&P Emerging Europe ETF(GUR) 0.2%
While developed Europe remains embattled in its own debt issues, the emerging region of the continent is managing to find some strength, pushing GUR higher. This fund appears to be heading higher on upward trajectory since hitting 2010 lows at the end of May.
GUR tracks a basket of companies in five Eastern European nations. However, Russia is the main driver of the fund, representing 61% of its portfolio.
Losers
iShares MSCI Spain Index Fund(EWP) -3.7%
As I explained in my comments on GUR, developed Europe continues to face headwinds thanks to debt issues facing Spain, Greece and other EU constituents.
EWP has spent plenty of time on the winners and losers list over the past few months indicating the volatile nature of the fund. Investors should avoid playing these troubled nations until clearer skies prevail.
SPDR Regional Banking ETF(KRE) -3.7%
The regional banking ETF is taking a big hit today as Obama signs Washington’s sweeping financial reform bill into law. KRE’s top holding, Fulton Financial(FULT), is down more than 10% today after failing to beat analyst expectations with its second-quarter earnings report.
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Medical Devices Index Fund(IHI) -3.2%
The medical devices industry is taking a heavy hit today, led lower by top holdings including Stryker(SYK) and Boston Scientific(BSX) which are down 9.0% and 3.5% respectively. Together, these two firms account for 7% and 5% of the fund respectively.
Top holding Medtronic(MDT), which represents a 13% position in IHI, is not holding up much better. It’s down 3.3%.
