Oil Slick: Commodities Lead Market Lower

Monday a strong dollar and weak manufacturing and housing data helped spur a selloff in commodities. Oil had been comfortably rising the last few weeks, hitting a yearly high of $74 a barrel. However, investors remain cautious about the recent broad stock market rally until there are definitive signs of an economic recovery. Indeed, Monday was the worst day for stocks in a month, with Microsoft (MSFT) and American Express (AXP) the only Dow Jones Industrial Average components posting gains. The Dow closed down 187 points to close at 8612. For a complete rundown of Monday's trading session see our market story. 

Natural gas prices reversed their recent decline and sent the United States Natural Gas fund (UNG) 7.1% lower. The United States Oil ETF (USO) fell 2.2% as the per-barrel price for crude slipped to the $70 level. The big swing in the major indexes gave the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETNs (VXX) a 4.5% boost.

The Market Vectors Coal fund (KOL) dropped sharply, shedding 7.2% as major commodity names slid world-wide on concerns economic recovery may not be underway. Profit-taking was also a culprit. The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining fund (XME) dropped 6.8% on similar selloff issues.

Launching Pad
Claymore Advisors is seeking Securities and Exchange Commission permission for a trio of actively managed exchange-traded funds. One of the three funds, the Claymore Laffer MacroEconomic Global Equity ETF, will be managed by supply-side economist Art Laffer’s economics consulting firm, Laffer Associates. The other proposed funds are the Claymore/S&P Commodity Trends Strategy ETF and the Claymore Active National Municipal ETF.

Earnings and Conference Calls
Adobe Systems, A-Power Energy Generation Systems, Best Buy Co., FactSet Research Systems, Smithfield Foods

Economic Data
7:45 a.m. ICSC Chain Store Sales
8:30 a.m. May Housing Starts
8:55 a.m. Redbook Retail Sales
8:30 a.m. May Producer Price Index
8:30 a.m. May Producer Price Index, ex-food and energy
9:15 a.m. May Industrial Production
9:15 a.m. May Capacity Utilization
4:30 p.m. June 1 API Oil Industry Report
5:00 p.m. ABC/Washington Post Consumer Confidence

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