ETFs Rally on Housing, M&A and Earnings Data

Exchange-traded funds enjoyed a broad-based rally Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 9000 barrier for the first time since January. A surprising rise in the annual rate of existing home sales, two acquisitions and mostly better-than-expected earnings reports helped drive equities higher.

Dow components AT&T (T) and 3M (MMM) both beat Wall Street estimates and Ford (F) swung to a surprise profit in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) said it will buy Medarex (MEDX) for $2.4 billion and Amazon.com (AMZN) said it would purchase online shoe retailer Zappos.com for $807 million.

At market close the Dow added 188 to finish at 9069, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 47 to 1974. The S&P 500 gained 22 to 976. For a detailed rundown on Thursday's trading session see our market story.

Existing home sales rose for their third consecutive month, according to the National Association of Realtors, exceeding economists' expectations. That boosted home builder and construction ETFs. S&P Homebuilders (XHB) gained 4.8%, while the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction (ITB) rose more than 5%.

A bigger-than-average gain in U.S. stockpiles of natural gas caused prices to decline, hurting shares of related ETFs. United States Natural Gas (UNG) fell 6.5%, while Dow Jones-AIG Natural Gas Total Return Sub-Index ETN (GAZ) dropped 6.3%.

Earnings and Conference Calls
Arch Coal, Ashland, Black & Decker, Exelon, Fortune Brands, Ingersoll-Rand, Schlumberger, T. Rowe Price, United Community Banks, West Coast Bancorp

Economic Data
9:55 a.m. Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index

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