Financial exchange traded funds were the biggest sector decliners in Tuesday’s down market after a five-day rally.
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLF) was off more than 1% along with top holding Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). In the tech sector, the Nasdaq-100 PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) held steady thanks in part to a 1.3% rise in key component Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL).
In commodities markets, oil and precious metals ETFs traded sharply higher Tuesday. U.S. Oil Fund (NYSEArca: USO) added 2%, SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) rose 1.4% and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV) rallied 3.2%.
Miner stocks were also strong Tuesday — Market Vectors Gold Miners (NYSEArca: GDX) climbed 2.3% and Global X Silver Miners (NYSEArca: SIL) rose 3.7%.
Renewed worries over Europe’s debt crisis and Chinese banks pushed Treasury ETFs higher after last week’s rout. [Treasury ETFs Rise]
Muni bond ETFs are back in the spotlight with a government shutdown in Minnesota illustrating the difficult fiscal situation many states are facing. [States May Rattle Muni Bond ETFs]
In industry news, the recent falloff in the CBOE Volatility Index following a spike earlier this month has prompted the automatic redemption of a Barclays exchange traded note designed to track VIX futures. [Barclays ETN Redeemed]
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund
Full disclosure: Tom Lydon’s clients own GLD and SLV.