Best and Worst ETFs Of The Week Amid Global Shakeup

After nearly two weeks of selling, stocks took flight on Wednesday after accommodative words from the Federal Reserve calmed investors nerves.  The buying continued through Thursday and Friday as hopes for a Santa Claus rally took hold once again.  

The biggest news of the week came out of Russia as its central bank significantly increased interest rates to try and stem the tide of plunging currency prices.  This turned the tide on Russian stocks in the near-term as well.  

Now after a sharp rally in global stocks, it remains to be seen if there is enough gas left in the tank to close out the year on a positive note.  

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

BEST: Canadian Energy Stocks

The energy complex has been crushed under the weight of falling crude oil and natural gas prices in recent months.  However, a snap back in energy-related stocks caused the Guggenheim Canadian Energy Income ETF (ENY) to jump nearly 15 percent this week.

ENY tracks 45 high yielding energy stocks based in or having a significant portion of their business in Canada.  Top holdings include Enbridge Inc (ENB) and Transcanada Corp (TRP).  

This ETF has a current 30-day SEC yield of 4.03 percent and has the opportunity to build on this recent momentum if commodity prices stabilize through the remainder of the year.  

WORST: Natural Gas Prices

Natural gas prices have continued their recent slide and fell to new 2014 lows on Friday.  The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) dropped more than 7 percent to close out the week and proved that deflation in this commodity has yet to run its course.

UNG tracks the daily spot price of natural gas and is now off more than 14 percent this year as demand continues to weaken versus expected levels.  Winter is typically a seasonally strong period for UNG, but 2014 has proven to be a unique outlier year for energy prices.