ETFs Gain Ground as Oil Prices Climb

After two losing weeks, the Dow shot into positive territory Monday. A dose of stability for Sallie Mae (SLM) in the form of new government contracts and an analyst upgrade helped shore up the financial sector. Oil prices notched solid gains, closing above $71, even though the International Energy Agency cut its medium-term forecast for total world oil demand by 3.7%. National distribution of some of that oil, particularly in somewhat unpredictable regions such as Russia, blunted fears of a supply glut. Also, fraudster Bernard Madoff, architect of the largest Ponzi scheme in investing history, received a 150-year prison term, which may have brightened a few faces on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 91 points to close at 8529. For a complete rundown of Monday’s trading session see our market story.

The spike in oil prices gave the United States Oil fund (USO) a sizable boost, pushing shares 3.1% higher. A bounce-back in shares of Potash (POT), which last week cut its forecast for the upcoming quarter, helped drive the Market Vectors Agribusiness fund (MOO), up 2.1%.

A sizable swing hit the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures exchange-traded notes (VXX), with the volatility tracker losing 4.1%. Falling natural gas prices knocked back the United States Natural Gas (UNG) fund 3.9%.

Earnings and Conference Calls
Exfo Electro-Optical Engineering, Investors Real Estate, Momentum Advanced Solutions, Park Electrochemical, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Sealy

Economic Data
7:45 a.m. ICSC Chain Store Sales Index for June 27
8:55 a.m. Redbook Retail Sales Index for June 27
9:00 a.m. April S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index
9:45 a.m. June Chicago PMI
10:00 a.m. June Conference Board Consumer Confidence
5:00 p.m. ABC/Washington Post Consumer Confidence for June 27

A look at how the industry's most popular ETFs did on Monday: