Notable ETF Movers of the Day 03/24: (SMH) (EWY) (GLD) Higher; (UNG) (VXX) (UUP) Lower

• Semiconductor HOLDRs (NYSE: SMH) up 1.71% to $34.50. Could be making a little rebound today after being pummeled following the tremendous earthquake and fallout in Japan, which posed some uncertainty for investors as to the state of manufacturing operations in the island nation. Notably, investors and AMAT) fillowing their investor day. Shares of AMAT are up 1.3%.
  
  
• iShares MSCI South Korea Index (NYSE: EWY) up 2.13% to $61.37. Higher as reports have little effect from radiation from Japan, even if winds blow radioactive elements west toward the country. The news was reported by Yonhap news agency. The ETF is also closing in on a 52-week high of $63.73.
  
  
• SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) up 0.50% to $141.04. The ETF is gaining today as gold futures reached a record $1,448.60 per ounce earlier. Investors continuing into gold as a safe haven as concerns about European debt, Japan, and Libyan conflict remain unsettled. Portugal may need a €70 billion bailout and Moody's also cut ratings across 30 Spanish banks.
  
  

• United States Natural Gas (NYSE: UNG) down 1.34% to $11.41. Stockpiles fell six billion cubic feet last week, versus the analyst consensus calling for a draw of five to nine billion cubic feet. April 11 contracts are trading $0.056 lower to $4.279.mmBtu on the Comex.
  
  
• iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE: VXX) down 2.53% to $30.47. The CBOE VIX is trading lower today as earnings reports from Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) and GameStop (NYSE: GME) appear to be outweighing some economic data. Jobless initial claims of 382K were 2,000 below the consensus, but durable goods orders showed a surprise drop of 0.9%.
  
  
• PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (UUP) down 0.41% to $21.69. Holding steady against most currencies, the U.S. dollar is seeing a little weakness today as investors put a little money to work in the markets and shift to precious metals until some of the uncertainty tied to Europe debt and the Libyan conflict is hammered out.

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