Mixed Session Yields Few ETF Winners

Another roller-coaster ride for the markets kept most unleveraged ETFs from hitting significant highs or lows in Wednesday trading. The Dow gave up triple digit gains and dipped into negative territory as skittish traders fretted over a weak Treasury auction. But buy orders surged in the last hour of trading, sending every major index into positive territory for the day. To see a complete rundown on Wednesday’s trading session see our market story.

The benchmark Nikkei Index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange hit a 10-week high, rising 3.3% and giving a boost to the iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ). It closed up 2.9%. Gold’s Wednesday rise to $940 an ounce pushed the SPDR Gold Shares fund up (GLD) 1.1%.

The late surge in trading also helped financial services ETFs gain ground. The SPDR Select Financial Sector fund (XLF) climbed 4.2%. Rosy data on new and existing home sales also caused investors to jump back into housing ETFs. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction fund (ITB) increased 3.8%.

The iShares S&P U.S. Preferred Stock fund (PFF) slipped 5.0% as corporate debt fell out of favor and Standard & Poor’s warned it might cut Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) AAA debt rating. Crude prices tumbled from above $55 a barrel to below $53, knocking down shares of Oil Service HOLDRS (OIH) by 1.0%.

Data Point: Launching Pad
IndexIQ said trading began Wednesday on the Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF, which is based on its own hedge fund index. The fund covers a range of hedge fund investing strategies, including long/short equity, global macro, market neutral, event-driven, fixed income arbitrage, and emerging markets. It will charge an expense ratio of 0.75%.

Direxion Funds, a leading provider of leveraged exchange-traded funds, has filed a request with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch another 40 funds.

Earnings and Conference Calls
Accenture, Best Buy, ConAgra, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Game Stop, Scholastic, Texas Industries, Wet Seal

Economic Data
8:30 a.m. 4Q Final GDP
8:30 a.m. Initial Jobless Claims
10:00 a.m. DJ-BTMU Business Barometer
10:30 a.m. EIA Natural Gas Inventories

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