Exchange traded funds tracking oil prices capped a dreadful week with an afternoon dive Friday, while a lackluster technology sector clipped stock ETFs.
U.S. Oil Fund (NYSEArca: USO) was down about 3% on Friday and on track for a decline of roughly 7% for the week. Concerns over the global economy and the debt crisis in Greece have hurt oil ETFs this week.
The Nasdaq-100 trailed Friday’s move higher in stocks as declines in top holdings Research in Motion (NasdaqGS: RIMM), Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) and Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO) weighed on a popular exchange traded fund following the tech-heavy index. [Nasdaq ETF Lags]
Financial exchange traded funds moved to the upside Friday morning as M&A hopes for the banking sector were raised following Capital One’s (NYSE: COF) $9 billion bid for ING Direct (NYSE: ING). [Financial ETFs Rise]
ETFs that target the agriculture and grains sectors have pulled back sharply recently, highlighting investor worries over a slowing global economy. [Agriculture, Grains ETFs Under Pressure]
Some options traders are betting the euro will weaken against the dollar and that stock-market volatility will rise in coming months, according to industry research. [Volatility, Weak Euro]
Exchange traded notes that follow cotton and sugar prices have been among the leaders during the commodity boom the past couple years, but now they are moving in opposite directions. [Cotton, Sugar ETFs Among Movers]
ETFs that invest in high-yield or “junk” bonds plunged nearly 2% on Thursday even though the underlying market was relatively quiet, according to reports. [High-Yield Plunge]
U.S. Oil Fund
