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5 ETFs That Skyrocketed During Biden's 100 Days in Office

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With the completion of the first 100 days of President Joe Biden in his office, the stock market is enjoying boom with the three major indices — the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite — hitting series of record highs. Rapid vaccinations, progress on more COVID-19 vaccines and record fiscal stimulus had pushed equity returns to all-time highs in Biden's first 100 days.

In fact, Biden’s first 100 days have delivered the strongest post-election equity returns in at least 75 years, according to data from JPMorgan. Per the analyst, the S&P 500 returns since Biden was elected are nearly 25% compared with returns of below 15% from former President Donald Trump's election to the 100-day mark after his inauguration. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones gained 11% — the second-best 100-day performance in 100 years (read: 5 Undervalued Sector ETFs to Tap as Stocks Hit All-Time High).

The economy has roared back to life and consumers are also feeling extremely optimistic under Biden’s presidency backed by ramped-up coronavirus vaccine distribution, massive stimulus and infrastructure spending. This is especially true as the Conference Board on consumer confidence index in April jumped to the highest level since February 2020 while retail sales surged the most since May 2020 in March. U.S. employers have added more than 1.2 million jobs since Inauguration Day and unemployment rate fell to a pandemic low of 6%. Per the IMF projection, the United States will become the engine of global economy this year with the strongest growth in decades. The agency recently upgraded the U.S. economic growth forecast from 5.1% to 6.4% for this year.

After Biden took office, the seven-day rolling average for vaccinations increased to about 3 million per day from 777,000 per day. As his 100th day approached, about half of the 16-and-older U.S. population had received at least one dose of vaccine. In addition, more than 80% of seniors had received at least one shot, and 25% of American adults were fully vaccinated.

Additionally, Biden pumped nearly $1.9 trillion into the economy, more than any other President at the same point in the first term. The relief package aims at both providing additional funding for fighting the pandemic and helping the economy through the recession. The measure includes aid to state and local governments, increased unemployment insurance, support for vaccination efforts, education aid, refundable child tax credits and housing assistance.

While the rally has been broad-based, most of the ETFs have easily crushed the market and are the clear winners of Biden’s 100 days of presidency. Below we have highlighted five of them that have gained more than 20% during this period:

Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK - Free Report) – Up 36.4%

This fund is actively managed, providing investors global exposure to a basket of the leading companies engaged in the development and utilization of blockchain technologies. It has AUM of $1.3 billion in its asset base and trades in an average daily volume of 1.2 million shares. The product holds a basket of 51 stocks with American firms dominating about 68.4% of the portfolio, followed by Asia Pacific (22.9%). The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.71% (read: Are These ETFs Headed for Pain as Bitcoin Dominance Falls?).

Invesco Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production ETF (PXE - Free Report) – Up 28.3%

This product follows the Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production Intellidex Index, which thoroughly evaluates companies involved in the exploration and production of natural resources used to produce energy based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action and value. Holding 31 stocks in its basket, the fund has amassed $57.3 million in its asset base while trading in an average daily volume of 149,000 shares. It charges 63 bps in annual fees and expenses. However, the fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #4 (Sell) (read: 5 Best-Performing Sector ETFs of Q1).

VanEck Vectors Steel ETF (SLX - Free Report) - Up 27.9%

This fund provides a pure-play exposure to a small basket of 25 stocks by tracking the NYSE Arca Steel Index. It is highly concentrated on the top two firms while other securities hold no more than 7.7% share. American firms dominate the fund’s returns at 35%, followed by Brazil (22.5%) and Australia (14.6%). The ETF has amassed $187.6 million in its asset base and charges 56 bps in fees from investors. It trades in a moderate volume of 112,000 shares a day on average.

Global X Uranium ETF (URA - Free Report) – Up 26.5%

This ETF provides access to a broad range of companies involved in uranium mining and the production of nuclear components, including those in extraction, refining, exploration, or manufacturing of equipment for the uranium and nuclear industries. It tracks the Solactive Global Uranium Total Return Index. Holding 38 stocks in its basket, it is highly concentrated on the top two firms with a combined 45.8% share while other firms hold no more than 5.1% share each. The ETF has amassed $572.4 million in its asset base and charges 69 bps in annual fees. It trades in a solid average daily volume of more than 934,000 shares.

SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB - Free Report) – Up 20.9%

This ETF provides exposure to homebuilders with a well-diversified exposure across building products, home furnishings, home improvement retail, home furnishing retail and household appliances. It is the most-popular option in the homebuilding space with AUM of $2.1 billion and an average daily volume of 2.3 million shares. The product charges 35 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a High risk outlook (read: Housing ETFs to Shine Bright as New Home Sales Rise in March).

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