“The market has had a so-so performance over the past four weeks. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF, a gauge of large cap stocks, has risen 1.8% over this time period. Of the 931 ETFs tracked by Morningstar, approximately half are in positive territory during this time frame although only six of these ETFs have returned double-digits. While the market looks for direction, here are four ETFs that investors should keep an eye on. A surprise performance has been turned in by the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE:XHB) over the last week as it has gained 3.1%. This move comes despite recent news that sales of new homes in December fell by 7.6% on a sequential basis. December capped the end of a year in which new home sales were 23% lower than the total for 2008,” Billy Fisher Reports From Investopedia.

Fisher goes on to say, “Builders are hoping 2010 will be the beginning of a new chapter. Earlier this month, D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) reported its first quarterly profit in three years and said that it expects to remain profitable throughout the first-half of 2010. The company as well as the industry as a whole has benefited from low mortgage rates and tax credits for first-time home buyers. Another ETF that has outperformed the market during the past four weeks has been the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE:XRT). This fund was up 4.5% during this run and retailers are beginning to gain confidence that consumer traffic will continue to recover this year despite a rocky start. Although it lost some of its value following yesterday’s consumer confidence report, XRT presently is trading near its 52-week high.”

“Even though crude inventories have been pushing higher, the price of oil has fluctuated just below $80 per barrel. This upward trend has lead to a 3% advance for the United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) over the past month. On Wednesday, the Energy Department reported that crude stockpiles in the U.S. have climbed to their highest level since November and are forecasted to increase. Investors in this ETF should look for this trend to reverse, otherwise it won’t be long until oil is unable to continue to trade above the $80 threshold. The recent gains by USO are tentative at best,” Fisher Reports.

“Another ETF that has traded in lockstep with USO is the United States Gasoline Fund (NYSE:UGA). UGA rose 3.1% over past four weeks before dropping 2.5% on Thursday. This fund has benefited from increased consumer consumption in recent weeks as well as a predicted drop in inventories. There have not been many ETFs that have really torn the cover off the ball during the month of February. The homebuilders, retailers and commodities have been at the top of the heap, but could still have more room to run. As we roll into March, keep an eye on these ETFs to see if they are able to sustain their positive momentum or if these moves will prove to be short-lived,” Fisher Reports.

See More Details From Billy Fisher: HERE

Here are some details on the ETFs mentioned:

The investment (XHB) seeks to replicate, net of expenses, the S&P Homebuilders Select Industry Index. The fund will invest at least 95% of assets in securities that comprise the index. The index represents the homebuilding sub-industry portion of the S&P TMI.The fund is nondiversified.

 

TOP 10 HOLDINGS ( 40.45% OF TOTAL ASSETS)

Company Symbol % Assets Ameron International Corporatio (AMN) 4.18 D.R. Horton, Inc. Common Stock (DHI) 4.09 Lennar Corporation Class A Comm (LEN) 4 Lennox International, Inc. Comm (LII) 3.86 M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. Common St (MDC) 4 NVR, Inc. Common Stock (NVR) 4.03 Pulte Homes, Inc. Common Stock (PHM) 4.2 Ryland Group, Inc. (The) Common (RYL) 4.04 Simpson Manufacturing Company, (SSD) 4.13 Toll Brothers Inc. Common Stock (TOL) 3.92

The investment (XRT) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before expenses, the performance of an index derived from the oil and retail segment of a U.S. total market composite index. The fund uses a passive management strategy to track the total return performance of the S&P Retail Select Industry index. The index represents the retail sub-industry of the S&P Total Market index.The fund is nondiversified.

TOP 10 HOLDINGS ( 17.64% OF TOTAL ASSETS)

Company Symbol % Assets Aeropostale Inc Common Stock (ARO) 1.69 CarMax Inc (KMX) 1.84 The Children’s Place Retail Sto (PLCE) 1.8 Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc Commo (DKS) 1.72 The Dress Barn, Inc. (DBRN) 1.74 Footlocker Inc. (FL) 1.83 HSN, Inc. (HSNI) 1.79 Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. Common Stoc (JAS) 1.75 Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD) 1.79 Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) 1.69

The investment (USO) seeks to reflect the performance, less expenses, of the spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light, sweet crude oil. The fund will invest in futures contracts for WTI light, sweet crude oil, other types of crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas and other petroleum based-fuels that are traded on exchanges. It may also invest in other oil interests such as cash-settled options on oil futures contracts, forward contracts for oil, and OTC transactions that are based on the price of oil.

TOP 10 HOLDINGS ( 162.74% OF TOTAL ASSETS)

Company Symbol % Assets F/C Ws Crude Future Sep09 N/A 12.33 F/C Wti Crude Future Sep09 N/A 87.68 Fidelity Instl MM Fds Government I N/A 28.89 Goldman Sachs FS Government Sel N/A 22.73 Morgan Stanley Inst Liquidity Gov Inst N/A 11.11

The investment (UGA) seeks to track, net of expenses, the changes in percentage terms of the price of gasoline. The trust will invest in the futures contract on unleaded gasoline delivered to the New York harbor traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange that is the near month contract to expire.

TOP 10 HOLDINGS ( 88.98% OF TOTAL ASSETS)

Company Symbol % Assets Fidelity Instl MM Fds Government I N/A 17.1 Future Contract On Gasoline Rbob Fut Jan10 N/A 49.94 Goldman Sachs FS Government Sel N/A 15.37 Morgan Stanley Inst Liquidity Gov Inst N/A 6.57

 
 

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