Thanks to IR & h, I bought my first spider today... an ETF, not an 8-legged creature! :P I chose the XLU: utilities sector spider after comparing it to these other utility spiders: IDU, UTH, VPU. ETF's have benefits (and weaknesses) of mutual funds; but I think their main benefit over mutual funds is that you can trade them as often as you want to. You can find out more here: http://www.morningstar.com/Cover/ETF.html

Thanks IR- You are always a wealth of info! :D

If you are serious about trading ETFs, in addition to structure and liquidity, you really should consider using composite / breadth data. The 36 ETFs covered by http://www.masterdata4metastock.com include all the SPDRs, all the HOLDRS and selected others with the highest trade volumes. The composite datafiles are updated hourly throughout the trade session and EOD. Unless you are purely a fundamentalist, I can't imagine wanting to trade ETFs without knowing what the "internals" are. That's why I developed the data in the first place, to trade ETFs. A plug-in for MetaStock is available that makes using the data as simple as regular price data. I would be happy to suggest other sites offering composite data, but, to the best of my knowledge, there are none at the current time. To answer your original question, about comparing your XLU SPDR to another ETF or index, there are numerous measures. One of the more widely known measures of any composite is the number of components trading above their 200 day moving average. Above 70% is considered bullish, below 30% bearish. I've attached a chart showing all the Select Sector SPDRs as measured by this composite statistic. Another measure is the number of new component 52 week highs and lows within the composite. For a shorter timeframe, I have also added a new composite statistic, the number of new component 1 quarter highs and lows within the composite. New Highs and Lows tend to punctuate the beginning or end of a price move. On more prolonged price moves they can occur at both the beginning and end. I've attached an example for XLU. Since it won't fit in the space allowed for a caption, here is what the histograms mean: Middle Panel: New Quarterly Highs (dark green) New 1st Day Quarterly Highs (bright green) New Quarterly Lows (dark red) New 1st Day Quarterly Lows (bright red) Lower Panel: New Annual Highs (dark green) New 1st Day Annual Highs (bright green) New Annual Lows (dark red) New 1st Day Annual Lows (bright red) There are numerous other measures. I personally consider them all. The best source I can think of for learning about indicators for composite / breadth analysis, is Greg Morris' new book. Go to http://store.yahoo.com/s...charts/cogutomabrin.html for more info. I am not affiliated with Greg in any way, but believe his new book is one of the best sources for this type of information. Good luck. Thanks for the info on the Morningstar Forum. Best Larry Carhartt

I just got my copy and look forward to spending some time with it this weekend. By the way, you might enjoy some other available charts on the Select Sector SPDRs: http://www.masterdata.co...s/SPDRsDailyUpTrends.htm These are not MetaStock charts but can easily be displayed with the plug-in. These are from the Preview section of my hourly updated Current Charts and Reports section. You'll need to subscribe (its always free) to see the current versions, but if you do, don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Best Larry Carhartt

:) I just ordered a whole stack of Greg's books too... will have them to pair up with the toolkit (reduced price of course... :)) - should have told ya sooner, huh??? Course it only helps if you want the indicators too... M