Notable ETF Movers of the Day 01/03: XLF, UNG, SPY/QQQQ Higher; VXX, GLD, FXY Lower

• Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLF) up 2.10% to $16.28. Led higher by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) today, which announced that they will be taking a $2 billion Q4 charge to settle buyback claims on home loans that were sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and will also take a $3 billion provision in Q4 related to obligations to repurchase home loans. BAC shares are up 4.8% on the day today.
  
  
• United States Natural Gas (NYSE: UNG) up 4.15% to $6.24. Trading strong today as weather authorities all concur that below-normal temps will be hanging around through at least mid-January. Temps in the Northwest and Midwest will be particularly cold. February 11 contracts are 3.9% higher on the Comex today.
  
  
• SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) up 1.30% to $127.38, and PowerShares QQQ (Nasdaq: QQQQ) up 2.00% to $55.55. Markets are stronger today following stagnant trading over the holidays, partially from BofA news, continuation of an increase in constuction spending (three months of increases in a row), and word that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is valuing Facebook at $50 billion and creating a a "special purpose vehicle" to allow its high-net-worth clients to invest in Facebook.

• iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE: VXX) down 3.83% to $36.17. Investors are confident today, taking the volatility out of the market. The CBOE VIX near-term index is down 1.92% today.
  
  
• SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) down 0.11% to $138.57. Gold seeing a little bit of selling today as investors turn to riskier assets amid economic data pointing to further economic recovery. Some estimate that gold prices may be too high, but should stabilize around $1400/ounce. Prices are just north of that point now, at $1,418.6/ounce on the Comex for February 11 contracts.
  
  
• CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSE: FXY) down 0.42% to $121.24. Losing a little ground versus the U.S. dollar following a 10-day winning streak by the currency, as economic indicators are adding strength to the dollar. The current trade is 81.4550 yen-per-dollar.

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