Home Construction Falls Off and Pulls Down Related ETFs

Homebuilder exchange traded funds (ETFs) found themselves scurrying from the wrecking ball in early trading when the construction spending numbers came out.

The Commerce Department said that construction activity fell 0.4% in April, continuing a losing streak that began last October, reports Martin Crutsinger for the Associated Press. The good news is that non-residential spending offset some of the loss after climbing to a record level, thanks to an increase is construction for shopping centers, office buildings and hotels.

Hotel and motel construction grew the most, up 7.6%, while private residential construction lost 2.3%. It was the 26th consecutive monthly decline.

Homebuilder ETFs were down in early trading today, and they’re giving mixed performance so far this year:

• iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction (ITB): down 1.5% year-to-date
• SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB): up 2.6% year-to-date