Dion’s Tuesday 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
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) 2.5%
Silver miner Hecla Mining (HL) and coal producer Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) are powering XME higher today, jumping nearly 5% and over 6% respectively in early afternoon trading.
The metals and mining ETF has gotten bashed around recently as investors digest multiple servings of dismal economic news. While today marks a strong day for XME, investors should remain cautious towards this industry.
Despite the strength from global miners, copper prices are taking a hit with iPath Dow Jones UBS Copper Total Return Subindex ETN (JJC) falling over 1%.
Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) 2.3%
Silver and gold miners are leading the precious metals industry to gains, helping to lift GDXJ, Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) and Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) higher.
Investors fearful of the abundance of uncertainty plaguing the market may find funds linked to precious metals as a welcomed source of stability and comfort.
Market Vectors Vietnam ETF (VNM) 2.2%
After tapping new all-time lows at the end of last week, the Vietnam ETF has staged an impressive rally, recovering nearly all of the previous week’s losses.
Vietnam, like other countries considered frontier markets, tend to move independent of other members of the global economy making funds such as VNM attractive to risk tolerant investors.
The Thai markets are soaring higher today as well, lifting the iShares MSCI Thailand Investable Market Index Fund (THD) .
Losers
United States Oil Fund (USO) -1.9%
Crude oil prices took a knock today, leading USO to heavy losses.
Meanwhile, natural gas prices are seeing a continuation of Monday’s gains. After treading in negative territory early on in the day, the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) is poking into positive ground.
Weather continues to play a big part in directing fuel prices. While the East Coast of the U.S. prepares for hurricane Earl, forecasters are predicting that the storm will avoid natural gas and oil production sites in the Gulf of Mexico. USO and UNG may be in for rocky ride over the next few days.
ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TBT) -1.8%
The markets are scoring gains today but investors are still seeking safety and piling into long term U.S. Treasuries. While TBT is taking a shot across the bow, the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT) is treading higher, gaining nearly 0.9% in early afternoon trading.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ) -0.5%
The yen is showing that it still has some fuel left in its tank, powering back to 15-year highs versus the U.S. dollar. In response to the currency’s assault higher, Japan’s equity markets are taking a heavy knock.
Although the weight of the currency has weighed on Japanese stocks, EWJ continues to outperform the broad Nikkei Index.
