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Rotate to Cyclical Sectors With These Top-Ranked ETFs

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Rising yields have gripped Wall Street since the start of 2022, resulting in a sell-off in the tech sector. As the Federal Reserve turned more hawkish and expectations for interest rates hike rose, investors rotated out of the high-growth technology to cyclical sectors like energy, financials, materials and industrials.

Investors seeking to tap the current trends could consider the ETFs form the cyclical sectors. While there are many options, Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE - Free Report) , iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB - Free Report) , U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS - Free Report) , Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB - Free Report) and SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE - Free Report) with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) seem excellent choices.

Why Cyclical?

Prices for almost everything, from raw materials to food prices to shipping costs, soared last year at the fastest pace in nearly four decades. This is especially true as the consumer price index jumped 7% year over year in 2021, marking the largest 12-month gain since June 1982. The red-hot inflation has set the stage for the first interest rate hike as soon as in March (read: 5 ETF Plays to Make the Most of Red-Hot Inflation).

The 10-year Treasury yield hit a two-year high on bets that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as in March. The latest Fed minutes revealed policymakers’ concerns about worsening inflation and early interest rate hikes to combat rising inflation. The policymakers signaled three rate increases this year and three in the following year as inflation concerns deepened. The probabilities of a March interest rate hike of 0.25% surged to 72%, according to fed futures trading contracts.

Omicron cases are also surging in the United States, with more than a million new cases in a single-day and hospitalizations hitting new highs.

However, a still-improving economy backed by job growth and higher consumer confidence will likely bolster risk-on trade. Increased U.S. consumer confidence, suggests that the economy would continue to expand in 2022. Additionally, President Biden’s administration took steps to eliminate supply-chain bottlenecks, indicating that higher inflation will not last very long. Further, the wider spread of vaccinations, new vaccines as well as solid corporate earnings bode well for the economy. As the cyclical sectors are tied to economic activities, these outperform when economic growth improves.

Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE - Free Report)

Vanguard Energy ETF is one of the popular choices in the energy space, having accumulated $6.6 billion in its asset base. It provides exposure to a basket of 104 energy stocks by tracking the MSCI US Investable Market Energy 25/50 Index (read: 5 Energy ETFs Making the Most of Oil Price Surge).

Vanguard Energy ETF sees a good volume of about 1.5 million shares and charges 10 bps in annual fees. VDE has a Zacks ETF Rank #2.

iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB - Free Report)

iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF provides exposure to U.S. companies that manufacture residential homes by tracking the Dow Jones U.S. Select Home Construction Index. With AUM of $3 billion, iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF holds a basket of 46 stocks with heavy concentration on the top two firms.

iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF charges 41 bps in annual fees and trades in a heavy volume of around 3 million shares a day on average. iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF has a Zacks ETF Rank #2.

U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS - Free Report)

U.S. Global Jets ETF provides exposure to the global airline industry, including airline operators and manufacturers from all over the world, by tracking the U.S. Global Jets Index. In total, the product holds 51 securities and charges investors 60 bps in annual fees.

U.S. Global Jets ETF has gathered $3.5 billion in its asset base while seeing solid trading volume of nearly 12.1 million shares a day. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #2.

Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB - Free Report)

Materials Select Sector SPDR is the most-popular material ETF that follows the Materials Select Sector Index. It manages about $8.6 billion in its asset base and trades in volumes as heavy as around 6 million shares. Materials Select Sector SPDR holds about 28 securities in its basket and charges 12 bps in fees per year from its investors (read: 5 Top-Ranked ETFs to Add to Your Portfolio for 2022).

In terms of industrial exposure, chemicals dominates the portfolio with a 68.8% share, while metals & mining, and containers & packaging round off the top three positions. The product has a Zacks ETF Rank #1.

SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE - Free Report)

SPDR S&P Bank ETF offers equal-weight exposure to 98 banking stocks by tracking the S&P Banks Select Industry Index. Regional banks dominate the portfolio with 74.8% share while thrifts & mortgage finance, diversified banks, other diversified financial services and asset management & custody banks take the remainder.

SPDR S&P Bank ETF has amassed $8.6 billion in its asset base while trading in a heavy volume of 2.8 million shares a day, on average. The product charges 35 bps in annual fees.

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