The US dollar came under renewed pressure yesterday as the ISM Non-manufacturing survey finished below the bottom of the consensus range at 53.5. As a result ETF trading levels were high with the Guggenheim Airline ETF (FAA) seeing a great deal of interest. The ETF usually trades around 8,500 shares in a normal session although volume reached over 22,000 yesterday.
The Guggenheim ETF focuses on three airlines; Delta, United Continental, and Southwest, although 23 other firms sit in the fund. While the three listed above weren’t volatile, a top six component, Spirit Airlines, was a big mover, losing 5% on the day as the dead vet row continued to flow across the press on a global basis at the same time as the airline announced plans to charge $100 for carry-on bags. Spirit alone wasn’t enough to drag down the whole sector as Delta and Southwest finished up to help keep FAA up 0.4% for the session.
The level of interest is significant and shows that just perhaps the airline ETF is finally gaining ground.