An exchange traded fund pegged to the dollar’s movements against a basket of currencies has been trading higher as Europe’s debt crisis moves back to the front burner.
ETF trading volumes and overall market volumes were subdued for most of the Labor Day shortened holiday week until Friday’s surge on sharp weakness in equities.
One particular ETF in the currency space that was active all week on heightened volume was PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSEArca: UUP). It climbed above its 200-day moving average and on Friday closed at its highest level since March. [Dollar ETF Rallies at Euro’s Expense]
On the week, UUP rallied over 3% while CurrencyShares Euro Trust (NYSEArca: FXE) by comparison fell sharply on a large multiple of average daily trading volume, also revisiting extreme levels that were last touched in March of this year.
On the equity side, one sector ETF that saw an increase in activity on the asset inflows or creation side was Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLV). [ETF Chart of the Day: Healthcare]
Largely due to several larger prints on Tuesday, the fund took in over $1 billion in new assets, and it appeared to us that an institutional manager was making a sizable long bet in healthcare, and perhaps taking a “defensive” equity posture as the sector itself is often thought of in that sense.
Amidst call buying earlier in the week in Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLF), it was no coincidence to see heavy buying in Direxion Financial Bull 3x Shares (NYSEArca: FAS) over the course of the week and over $200 million flowed into the fund as short term traders seem to be positioning for upside in the sector.