Stocks Retreat on Wall of Worries

July 26, 2007

SAN DIEGO (ETFguide.com) - Global stock market indexes fell today on concerns about higher energy prices, a shaky U.S. housing market, and the crumbling status of the subprime mortgage business.

Leading the decline were exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking major stock market indexes.

Just before the close, the Dow Diamonds, which track the Dow Industrials (Ticker: DIA)  was down 2.75 percent, the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (Ticker: SPY) declined 2.94 percent, and the technology loaded PowerShares QQQ Trust (Ticker: QQQQ) dropped by 2.23 percent.

Even gold, which is considered a safe haven when stocks are falling, had a poor showing. The streetTRACKS Gold Shares (Ticker: GLD) declined by 2.29 percent.

Specific market segments that got hammered were the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (Ticker: VWO) down 6.54 percent, the SPDR S&P Homebuilders fund (Ticker: XHB) down 4.82 percent, and the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate ETF (Ticker: IYR) down by 3.81 percent. 

Also getting snagged in the selloff were single country funds. The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (Ticker: EWZ) dropped 8.53 percent and the SPDR S&P China ETF (Ticker: GXC) fell 6.36 percent. Both funds had enjoyed big runups over the past several months.

The ProShares ETFs, which provide short or inverse market performance, was one of the few bright spots today.

The ProShares UltraShort Real Estate (Ticker: SRS) gained 6.47 percent, the UltraShort Financials (Ticker: SKF) jumped almost 7 percent, and the UltraShort Technology fund (Ticker: REW) gained 4.21 percent.