Credit: Alcoa ( AA , quote ) stunned Wall Street with its earnings yesterday and was rewarded with a 6% rally. But the newly minted Global X Aluminum ETF ( ALUM , quote ) didn't budge. Is this an opportunity?
[caption align="alignright" caption="Alcoa Smelter Pot room, La Coruna, Spain"] 
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In theory, ALUM should have gotten a significant boost, considering that AA is its second-biggest holding -- 9.57% of the portfolio -- and top holding Rio Tinto ( RIO , quote ) climbed 1.32% yesterday in sympathy with its rival aluminum giant.
Likewise, other aluminum producers heavily weighted in the fund, like Russia's Rusal, sadly do not trade in the United States but rose overnight as global traders rushed to re-rate the entire group after AA's quarterly results.
One problem: ALUM is still so obscure that not a single share changed hands even on one of the biggest days for aluminum in ages.
No turnover means AA's good news is still not baked into the ETF share price, so traders who can somehow capture some lots today have another chance to trade yesterday's news.
Sadly, while ALUM has been around since last January, it just hasn't taken off with traders. The fund has only amassed $2.4 million in overall assets, and even in the best of times average daily turnover is well under 3,000 shares.
So even though the fund's assets were worth $9.87 as recently as Tuesday night, its shares are still stuck down here at $9.69 -- a 1.8% discount built in, if only someone could trade it.
Naturally, there aren't many people eager to sell at below net asset value, so perversely enough these shares could be in limbo until someone decides to bid above $9.87 to start the ball rolling.
What's especially sad about this is that ALUM isn't the pure play on physical aluminum that we were promised a few years back. Instead, it's a collection of aluminum producer shares, without owning a single ton of the physical metal.
Compare a copper mining fund like COPX ( quote ) to a pure copper commodity fund like JJC ( quote ) -- or gold miners in GDX ( quote ) to the bullion in GLD ( quote ) -- and you'll see the difference right away.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
