Optimism Returns to Real Estate ETFs

Mixed signs in the market on Wednesday were a boon to real estate exchange-traded funds, which moved on key upgrades and positive data from the home-builder sector. However, technology stocks took a hit on a weak outlook from Intel (INTC), pulling the sector down. The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained flat for most of the session, until some optimistic data from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book. The benchmark rose 109 points to close at 8029. To see a complete rundown on Wednesday’s trading session see our market story.

The SPDR Dow Jones REIT fund (RWR) rose 9.8% after Goldman Sachs (GS) analysts upgraded a number of real estate investment trusts as credit eases. A home-builder survey also showed a big jump in confidence among the industry’s players. The Vanguard REIT Index fund (VNQ) rose 8.6%. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction fund (ITB) jumped 5.1%.

Intel's flat outlook hit the Semiconductor HOLDRS (SMH) dropping shares 2%. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology fund (IBB) dropped 1%.

Data Point
Exchange-traded funds recorded a 6.8% gain in assets for March, according to State Street Global Advisors data. The firm said two new funds were launched and the six funds of the SPA ETF Market Grader series shut down, leaving 735 ETFs in the U.S. managed by 22 companies. About $482 billion is now invested in exchange-traded funds.

Launching Pad
IndexIQ has filed a request with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch 15 new exchange-traded funds that replicate specific hedge fund trading and investing strategies. Proposed offerings include a distressed fund, a merger arbitrage fund, an absolute return fund and a convertible arbitrage fund. IndexIQ in late March launched the Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (QAI), which has an expense ratio of 0.75%.

Earnings and Conference Calls
Biogen Idec, Briggs & Stratton, Charlotte Russe, Courier, Cypress Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor International, Gannett, Google, Harley Davidson, Nokia, Polaris Industries, Sherwin-Williams, Sunoco Products, Southwest Airlines, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Economic Data
8:30 a.m. Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 a.m. March Housing Starts
10:00 a.m. April Philadelphia Fed Business Index
10:00 a.m. DJ-BTMU Business Barometer

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