Notable ETF Movers of the Day 07/18: (VXX) (UNG) (GLD) Higher; (SPY) (USO) (XLF) Lower

• iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE: VXX) up 3.80 percent to $24.03. The CBOE VIX volatility index is ripping today, as the U.S. is still working to sort out its debt issues. Though a deal to raise the debt limit in the U.S. hasn't been officially struck, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said that default is "off the table" in an interview today.
  
  
• United States Natural Gas (NYSE: UNG) up 0.52 percent to $11.50. A heat wave is swarming the Midwest and is expected to meander over to the East Coast shortly. Notably, when this author woke up, it was a sweltering 85 Fahrenheit outside. Due to the heat, many citizens will be seeking relief via their air conditioning unit, leading to an increase in nat gas demand as more energy will be required to run the units. Nat gas contracts are up $0.029 to $4.575 on the Comex today.
  
  
• SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) up 0.69 percent to $156.27. Gold rallying today as U.S. debt concerns now linger. Many are expecting the U.S. to avoid default by hashing out a deal before August 2nd. Gold August contracts hit an intraday high of $1,607.9 per ounce on the Comex today, but have fallen back to $1,602.8 per ounce, still well into record territory.

• SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) down 1.37 percent to $129.88. Markets are in negative territory today, as debt talks continue without resolution in sight. The S&P 500 is down over 1.3 percent, while the Nasdaq is slumping 1.5 percent.
  
  
• United States Oil (NYSE: USO) down 2.23 percent to $37.28. Crude is trading lower on a stronger dollar today, which is trading higher against the euro and a basket of other currencies amid debt concerns in the U.S. WTI august contracts are down $2.26 to $94.98 per barrel on the Comex.
  
  
• Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLF) down 2.22 percent to $14.52. The ETF is being led by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) today heading into its second-quarter earnings report. Shares have moved over 4.5 percent to a fresh low of $9.53 on the session, the lowest the stock has been in about two years. The weakness is afoot despite earnings victories for Citi (NYSE: C) and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) last week.

You May Also Be Interested In

• S&P 500 may pull back before midterms, but Citi says buy the dip
• US equity funds draw inflows despite market pressures
• Beike (BEKE) PT Raised to $23 at Morgan Stanley