Best And Worst ETFs Of The Week Amid Santa Claus Rally

New all-time highs are becoming a reoccurring event on Wall Street as the first week of December ushered in continued strength in the equity markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is rapidly approaching the 18,000 level and continues to exhibit strong relative momentum as traders and investors ride this most recent Santa Claus rally.

The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA, which tracks this blue chip index of 30 mega-cap stocks, finished slightly higher to end the week.

The following ETFs represent a sample of the best- and worst-performing funds over the last five trading sessions.

BEST: China A-Share Stocks

Chinese stocks have finally awoken in 2014 as the Shanghai Composite Index capped its best weekly gains since 2009. It appears that recent rate cuts in China have spurred renewed interest from foreign and domestic investors on the expectations of a pickup in economic activity.

The Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF ASHR tracks the 300 largest and most liquid A-Share equities in mainland China. This ETF was one of the first to offer direct access to this coveted market to U.S.-based investors. This week, ASHR gained more than 14 percent as this class-specific index soared.

According to ETF.com, ASHR has attracted over $333 million in new assets this year and now has $717 million total under management. That spike is most likely due to the 40 percent total return this ETF has achieved in 2014, which has primarily come in just the last six weeks.

WORST: Natural Gas

Natural gas is once again making headlines as continued speculation in this liquid futures market has led to prices touching their lowest levels of the year this week. The United States Natural Gas Fund UNG tracks the daily price movement of front month natural gas futures and fell nearly 9 percent over the last five trading sessions.

Natural gas has seen sharp moves in both directions this year, which has led to it being in the top and bottom of these weekly screens. This roller coaster action and enhanced volatility has provided traders with opportunities on both sides of the price action.