Notable ETF Movers of the Day 03/29: (XRT) (USO) (QQQ) Higher; (UNG) (VXX) (FXY) Lower

• SPDR S&P Retail (NYSE: XRT) up 0.89% to $50.04. Stocks moving higher today amid tepid economic news on housing and consumer confidence. Retailers and other sectors may be keeping the momentum going from several notable M&A moves this week, with GE's (NYSE: GE) $3.2 billion proposal to acquire the majority of French wind turbine and power device manufacuturer Converteam. Yesterday, Rural/Metro (Nasdaq: RURL), Spectrum Control (Nasdaq: SPEC), and GSI Commerce (Nasdaq: GSIC) all announced that they had entered into M&A agreements.
  
  
• United States Oil (NYSE: USO) up 0.99% to $41.83. Though not making an exceptionally strong move today, crude futures are trying to gain a direction as Libyan rebels advance, potentially restarting flow from the North African nation, while markets are on an uptick following economic data today. May 11 ETI contracts are $0.45 better to $104.43 per barrel and June 11 brent contracts are up $0.56 to $115.14 per barrel, both on the Comex.
  
  
• PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 (Nasdaq: QQQ) up 0.73% to $56.94 and SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) up 0.40% to $131.51. U.S. markets ticking higher today amid sour economic data related to housing and consumer confidence. Real estate prices plummeted 3.1 percent in January, according to the S&P/Case Shiller 20-City Index, though the dip was a little shallower than the 3.2 percent drop that economists were looking for. Consumer confidence in March fell 860 basis points from 72.0 in February to 63.4 in March. Consensus was looking for a reading of 65.0.

• United States Natural Gas (NYSE: UNG) down 0.78% to $11.49. Traders are eying warmer weather on the horizon amid chillier weather hanging out through much of the Northern and Eastern U.S. though the balance of the week. Many believe that the weather is priced in to futures considering the unseasonable cold that struck the U.S. over the last two weeks. May 11 contracts are trading $0.062 lower to $4.386/mmBtu on the Comex.
  
  
• iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE: VXX) down 1.07% to $30.44. Volatility is out of the markets for the most part today as they shake off weak economic data on prospects of recovery in Japan as well as potential advancement of rebels in Libya.
  
  
• CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSE: FXY) down 0.89% to $119.81. The Japanese yen falling to a ten-month low as the U.S. and Europe look to stem stimulus programs, increasing the prospects in an interest rate hike for the U.S. and Europe. The move wold attract interest from investors in the yen, as Japan would most likely keep rates where they're currently at, making the yen yield less than peers.

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