Option volume in the Market Vectors Russia (RSX: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) indicates that Russian markets may soon enter a bear market. Uncharacteristic put volume reflects a dip of greater than 17% by May.

Open interest on the popular ETF rose to 60,608 put contracts, 2.42 times as many call contracts, which suggest a dip is in order. Of all the contracts, the $25 May puts were the most active, signaling that investors are looking for a 17% decline in Russian stocks by May expiration, which is just three months away, BusinessWeek reports. Nearly a fifth of all option action in the Market Vector’s fund is in the May $25 put.

Already Russia’s Micex Index has fallen some 8.3% since January highs, and analysts suspect the index will continue to decline as Russia’s top export, oil, remains inexpensive.

The race to dominate country specific funds is in full swing. iShares recently filed with the SEC to create another six country-specific ETFs.

The six new funds are:

1. iShares MSCI Brazil Small Cap Index Fund

2. iShares MSCI Egypt Capped Investable Market Index Fund

3. iShares MSCI Ireland Capped Investable Market Index Fund

4. iShares MSCI Philippines Investable Market Index Fund

5. iShares MSCI Russia Capped Index Fund

6. iShares MSCI USA Index Fund

Similar to previous country-specific funds from iShares, all will track an MSCI index to generate returns for investors. iShares’ entry into Brazil is interesting, as the firm already operates a broad based fund that invests in the largest Brazilian companies. The small-cap blend will compete directly with Van Eck’s Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap Fund (BRF: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), which took the markets by storm in 2009 and attracted more than $700 million in assets.

iShares will be the first ETF sponsor to track Egyptian and Irish stocks, two areas that are currently under-represented with ETF investors. Neither ticket symbols nor annual expense ratios have been released.

First Trust has filed with the SEC to create three new funds - two commodities and one emerging market - that will seek to latch onto the growing market for the two asset classes.

First Trust filed for the following three ETFs with the SEC:

1. First Trust BICK Index Fund

2. First Trust ISE Global Copper Index Fund

3. First Trust ISE Global Platinum Index Fund

The First Trust BICK Index Fund (BICK) is a play on the commonly associated growth countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. However, the ETF will exclude Russia in favor of South Korea, according to the SEC filing. The fund will equally weigh each country with 25% of the portfolio.

The First Trust ISE Global Copper Index Fund and First Trust ISE Global Platinum Index Fund will track firms involved in mining, exploration, and refining copper and platinum. The platinum fund will be expanded to include companies involved in similar metals, such as palladium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium and rhodium. Each fund will trade with a .70% annual fee.

WisdomTree has filed with the SEC to create two new funds that track the change of the American dollar against a basket of world currencies. The new funds will compete with PowerShares US DB Dollar ETF (UUP: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), which has attracted more than $3 billion from investors.

The WisdomTree Rising Dollar Fund, one of the new funds, will seek to provide performance equivalent to the change in the value of the US dollar against 15 other world currencies. The fund will invest in Treasury bonds, as well as money markets and currency contracts, to derive returns for its investors.

WisdomTree Commodity Currency Fund will seek out currency investments in countries with strong commodity producing industries. The fund is centered on the relative value of the currencies represented by the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia and South Africa, according to the SEC filing.

EGA Emerging Global Shares has filed for a new line of seven exchange-traded funds that would center on BRIC nations and their economies. Six of the funds target infrastructure and mid cap stocks, while the remainder is set to track a broader index of Asian companies.

The new funds filed with the SEC are:

1. Emerging Global Shares INDXX India Infrastructure Index Fund

2. Emerging Global Shares INDXX China Infrastructure Index Fund

3. Emerging Global Shares INDXX Brazil Infrastructure Index Fund

4. Emerging Global Shares INDXX India Mid Cap Index Fund

5. Emerging Global Shares INDXX China Mid Cap Index Fund

6. Emerging Global Shares INDXX Brazil Mid Cap Index Fund

7. Emerging Global Shares INDXX Growing Asia Large Cap Index Fund

All of the funds seek maximum diversification, opting to limit single companies to no more than 10% of the index. The goal of this strategy is to fix the common under-diversification problem prevalent among emerging ETFs. The infrastructure funds will be comprised of 50 stocks for the India fund and 30 for Brazil and China, according to the SEC filing.

The Mid-Cap variety funds will seek out companies headquartered in China, India and Brazil. The Indian fund will require that the companies are smaller than the smallest stock in the S&P CNX Nifty Index, while the Chinese fund will invest in companies ranging in size from $500 million to $5 billion. Brazil’s fund will be based upon slightly smaller companies that range between $400 million to $4 billion.

The Growing Asia Large Cap Index Fund seeks to track the returns of the top 50 large cap stocks in China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, and it will dedicate half the funds to Chinese and Indian stocks.