Notable ETF Movers of the Day 08/24: (XLF) (XLU) (XHB) Higher; (GLD) (SMH) (FXI) Lower

• Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLF) up 1.03 percent to $12.49. Financials are having a nice rebound day, led by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), which is up 9.8 percent on the session. BofA has been under heavy pressure recently on several notes and reports that it would need to raise gobs of capital to stay solvent.
  
  
• Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU) up 1.43 percent to $33.36. Normally a rather complacent ETF, Utilities are stronger today following the magnitude 5.8 earthquake which hit Virginia yesterday afternoon. Dominion (NYSE: D), which is 1.5 percent better on the session, reported restoration of power to it's North Anna Power Station late yesterday, after a shutdown following the quake.
  
  
• SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB) up 0.44 percent to $13.55. Yes, on the grand scheme of things, the housing sector is still glum. But today's report from the FHFA that home prices rose 0.9 percent in July, coupled with Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) third-quarter earnings, is enough to lift the ETF today.

• SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) down 2.11 percent to $173.92. Gold falling today as investors cap gains, but more escalation might be in store for the metal if further quantitative easing is mentioned by Fed Chair Bernanke at Jackson Hole on Friday. December contracts are $72.5 lower to $1788.8 per ounce on the Comex.
  
  
• Semiconductor HOLDRs (NYSE: SMH) down 1.78 percent to $28.20. Applied Materials Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT) is leading the ETF today, ahead of its second-quarter earnings report, expected out after the market closes today. Applied shares are down over 2 percent on the session.
  
  
• iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund (NYSE: FXI) down 2.33 percent to $36.44. China stocks leveling off following a nice rally yesterday, which saw the ETF close about 4.5 percent higher. Shares in Shanghai gained on the prospect of further intervention by the Fed.

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