The U.S. dollar has gained some strength with commodities markets falling on profit taking and higher margin requirements. A weaker euro has dragged on the commodities market and ETFs are moving on the news. PowersShares DB US Dollar Bullish Fund (NYSEArca: UUP) has been catching a bid lately while the euro weakens. [Greenback ETF Makes Gains as Commodities Trip]
An $11 billion ETF indexed to the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up about 10% so far this year but its gains have been capped by weakness in blue chips Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT) and Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO). The three stocks are the worst performers in the Dow so far in 2011, [Bank of America, Microsoft, Cisco Trip Dow ETF]
After heavy expansions in sugar farming during peak prices, sugar prices and a related exchange traded note (ETN) are suffering the consequences of an oversupplied market. The iPath DJ-UBS Sugar ETN (NYSEArca: SGG) is down nearly 30% year to date. It has been at the leading edge of the commodities rally and the recent pullback. The ETN tracks the movement of sugar futures. [Sugar ETF Crashes Nearly 30%]
A 3.5% pullback in Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) on Thursday following downgrades from Wall Street analysts dusted up ETFs that invest in the U.S. financial sector. Dick Bove at Rochdale Securities cut Goldman shares to sell from neutral and lowered his target price on the stock to $120 a share. [Goldman Sachs Downgrades Claw Financial ETFs]
Gregory A. Clay contributed to this article.