Gold ETF Rises as Investors Look for Safety

Bad news from Boeing (BA) and anticipation of more housing data kept stocks nearly flat Tuesday. New home sales figures are slated to be released early Wednesday, and this key gauge of the real estate sector kept many investors sidelined. Earlier Tuesday, existing home sales numbers were released. The figure rose 2.4% from a year ago, though total housing inventory still remains high. Also, Boeing announced that possible weakness where the wings join the body of the long-awaited 787 Dreamliner will delay its initial flight and production. The Dow Jones Industrial Index lost 17 points to close at 8322. For a complete rundown of Tuesday’s trading session see our market story.

Gold prices rose to more than $926 an ounce, pushing shares of the Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) up 4.3% as investors headed for a safe haven at the trailing off of the rally in stocks. Crude inched back above $69 a barrel, pushing shares of the United States Oil fund (USO) up 3.2%.

The SPDR S&P Retail fund (XRT) shed 1.7% Tuesday after shares of companies such as Netflix (NFLX) and Barnes & Noble (BNC) fell. Natural Gas prices also slipped Tuesday, driving down shares of the United States Natural Gas fund (UNG) by 1.2%.

Launching Pad
United States Commodity Funds wants Securities and Exchange Commission approval of its latest proposed commodity fund, which will invest in futures contracts for natural gas at Louisiana's Henry Hub. The company operates the U.S. Oil Fund (USO), the U.S. Gasoline Fund (UGA), the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) and the U.S. 12-Month Oil Fund (USL). The proposed fund will be based on a full basket of the next 12 months of futures contracts for natural gas. The United States Natural Gas Fund holds only the next month's contract.

Earnings and Conference Calls
American Greetings, Bed Bath & Beyond, CKE Restaurants, Darden Restaurants, Monsanto, Nike, Paychex, Red Hat, Rite Aid, Wyeth

Economic Data
8:30 a.m. May Durable Goods Orders
10:00 a.m. May New Home Sales
2 p.m. FOMC Meeting

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