Oil, Basic ETFs Lead Peers

  • April 26, 2001
  • Loren Fleckenstein

The newly minted Oil Services HOLDR
led the resource and basic materials tradable funds higher Thursday while the
tech-focused exchange-traded funds subtracted.

The Oil Services HOLDR
(
OIH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
gained 5.2%, the day’s biggest gain among the U.S.-focused exchange-traded
funds. The basket of stocks began trading Feb. 7 on the American Stock Exchange.
Its components included Baker Hughes
(
BHI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), BJ Services
(
BJS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Diamond
Offshore Drilling
(
DO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), ENSCO International
(
ESV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Global Marine
(
GLM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
Noble Drilling
(
NE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Schlumberger
(
SLB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating).

The Dow Jones Chemical iShares
(
IYD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
rose 4.0%, the Basic Industries SPDR
(
XLB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 3.2%, the Dow Jones Basic
Materials iShares
(
IYM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 2.9%.

The Cyclicals-Transportation SPDR
(
XLY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
added 2.5%.

On the downside, the Broadband HOLDR
(
BDH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
lost 3.4%, the day’s sharpest loss among the ETFs. The B2B Internet HOLDR
(
BHH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
declined 3.2%, the Internet Architecture HOLDR
(
IAH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 3.2%, the Semiconductor
HOLDR
(
SMH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 2.8%, the Dow Jones Internet iShares
(
IYV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 2.6%, the Dow
Jones Technology iShares
(
IYW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 2.6%. 

Exchange-traded
funds combine traits
of stocks and mutual funds. Like mutual funds, an ETF represents diversified
ownership in a number of different stocks, greatly reducing company-specific
risk. Like stocks, ETFs trade on exchanges, nearly all of them in fact trade on
the American Stock Exchange at present. They quote throughout the day, enabling
traders to take advantage of intraday price moves. 

If you’re new exchange-traded funds,
be sure to visit TradingMarkets’ Knowledge Center,
dedicated to explaining the basics of trading and active investing in ETFs and
mutual funds. Just click on the Funds tab
near the top of this page, then click on the Knowledge
Center tab. You also can find further information, including
component stocks, at the following sites: www.amex.com
(click on the HOLDRS and Exchange-Traded Funds links), www.ishares.com
and www.holdrs.com.

 

 

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