Notable ETF Movers of the Day 08/24: VXX, GLD, FXY Higher; SPY, USO, XLV Lower

• iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE: VXX) up 2.94% to $23.18. The ETF is trading higher today, following an existing home sales number for July that came in about 27% lower than June's number. Investors may be selling as thoughts that previous housing numbers may have been artificially inflated by government support, and a true economic recovery is still a ways off. The CBOE VIX is up 5.9% on the day so far.
  
  
• SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) up 0.59% to $120.49. Investors making their way into safer investments following disappointing economic numbers today. December contracts are trading $7.0 higher to $1235.5/ounce on the COMEX. More QE from the Fed could be needed, possibly creating inflation.
  
  
• CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSE: FXY) up 1.29% to $117.67. The yen is higher today, and hitting 15-year highs as the U.S. dollar sinks below Y84 today. The Japanese finance minister, Yoshihiko Noda, said that they would act appropriately against the yen's continued rise against the Group of Seven currencies.

• SPDRs (NYSE: SPY) down 0.76% to $106.31. Markets are lower today as housing data for the month of July and warnings from Ireland's CRH Plc (NYSE: CRH) that "uncertainties [in the economic recovery] remain."
  
  
• United States Oil (NYSE: USO) down 1.11% to $32.07. Falling today on weak economic data.
  
  
• Health Care Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLV) down 1.87% to $28.26. Lower today on economic data, and Medtronic's (NYSE: MDT) first quarter earnings report. MDT posted a Q111 EPS of $0.80, ex-items, shy of the $0.81 that the Street was looking for. Revs for the quarter were $3.77 billion, compared to the consensus of $3.95 billion.

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