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The S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.4%, 0.4% and 1.1%, respectively, last week. The world’s largest economy is witnessing a surge in the number of new Delta variant cases in 49 states. This fear weighed on the broader market last week.
On a separate note, the U.S. GDP grew at a 6.5% annualized rate in the second quarter of 2021, per the Commerce Department’s first estimate (as mentioned in a CNBC article). However, the metric lagged the Dow Jones estimate of 8.4%.
For the week ended Jul 24, 400,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits, above the Dow Jones estimate of 385,000, per a CNBC report. All these reports had a somber effect on Wall Street despite upbeat earnings.
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few ETF areas that were the best performers last week.
Clean Energy
After riding high in the past year thanks to low rates and Biden’s election win in November, clean energy ETFs have succumbed to a slowdown this year. This acted as an entry point to the clean energy space lately on stimulus sanctions. Notably, among the many policies that Biden and his democratic party support, clean energy is at the forefront. Alpha Architect ETF Trust Viridi Cleaner Energy added about 11.8% last week.
Blockchain
Bitcoin, which was downtrodden in the past few weeks, has gained steam on supportive comments from Elon Musk and Cathie Wood. Though bitcoin ETFs are not available to investors, they have blockchain ETFs at their disposal.
Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ - Free Report) (up 10.8%), Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH - Free Report) (up 8.79%) and Vaneck Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP - Free Report) (up 8.76%) are some of the ETFs that were the notable winners.
Metal & Mining
Rising global demand has been boosting the demand for industrial metals. No wonder,S&P Metals & Mining SPDR (XME - Free Report) gained 7% last week.
Silver Mining
Silver prices remained relatively steady last week on low rates and a downbeat stock market performance. Slight risk-aversion took shape lately. Silver offers a safe-haven trade and benefits from a subdued greenback. It also acts as an industrial metal. With the U.S. economy reopening, this industrial metal is also gaining steam. As a result, SILX gained massively last week. Purefunds ISE Junior Silver ETF (SILJ - Free Report) added about 6.8% last week.
Rare Earth Metals
Rare earth metals are getting a boost from an accelerating shift to new technologies such as electric vehicles. About 27% of rare metals are used in the production of neomagnets, which are the essential components in electric vehicles (EVs). Vaneck Rare Earth Strategic Metals ETF (REMX - Free Report) was up 6.2% last week.The underlying MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in producing, refining, and recycling of rare earth and strategic metals and minerals. The fund charges 59 bps in fees.
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Top ETF Areas of Last Week
The S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.4%, 0.4% and 1.1%, respectively, last week. The world’s largest economy is witnessing a surge in the number of new Delta variant cases in 49 states. This fear weighed on the broader market last week.
On a separate note, the U.S. GDP grew at a 6.5% annualized rate in the second quarter of 2021, per the Commerce Department’s first estimate (as mentioned in a CNBC article). However, the metric lagged the Dow Jones estimate of 8.4%.
For the week ended Jul 24, 400,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits, above the Dow Jones estimate of 385,000, per a CNBC report. All these reports had a somber effect on Wall Street despite upbeat earnings.
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few ETF areas that were the best performers last week.
Clean Energy
After riding high in the past year thanks to low rates and Biden’s election win in November, clean energy ETFs have succumbed to a slowdown this year. This acted as an entry point to the clean energy space lately on stimulus sanctions. Notably, among the many policies that Biden and his democratic party support, clean energy is at the forefront. Alpha Architect ETF Trust Viridi Cleaner Energy added about 11.8% last week.
Blockchain
Bitcoin, which was downtrodden in the past few weeks, has gained steam on supportive comments from Elon Musk and Cathie Wood. Though bitcoin ETFs are not available to investors, they have blockchain ETFs at their disposal.
Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ - Free Report) (up 10.8%), Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH - Free Report) (up 8.79%) and Vaneck Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP - Free Report) (up 8.76%) are some of the ETFs that were the notable winners.
Metal & Mining
Rising global demand has been boosting the demand for industrial metals. No wonder,S&P Metals & Mining SPDR (XME - Free Report) gained 7% last week.
Silver Mining
Silver prices remained relatively steady last week on low rates and a downbeat stock market performance. Slight risk-aversion took shape lately. Silver offers a safe-haven trade and benefits from a subdued greenback. It also acts as an industrial metal. With the U.S. economy reopening, this industrial metal is also gaining steam. As a result, SILX gained massively last week. Purefunds ISE Junior Silver ETF (SILJ - Free Report) added about 6.8% last week.
Rare Earth Metals
Rare earth metals are getting a boost from an accelerating shift to new technologies such as electric vehicles. About 27% of rare metals are used in the production of neomagnets, which are the essential components in electric vehicles (EVs). Vaneck Rare Earth Strategic Metals ETF (REMX - Free Report) was up 6.2% last week.The underlying MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in producing, refining, and recycling of rare earth and strategic metals and minerals. The fund charges 59 bps in fees.