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ETFs Standing Tall While Market Nears Worst 100 Days Since 1970

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are close to logging their worst 100 days since 1970, as quoted on investors.com. For the Nasdaq Composite, which dates back to 1972, tomorrow may mark the worst first 100 trading days of a year ever.

Year to date, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are all deep in correction territory (down at least 10% from the previous record high), with the Nasdaq getting a massive battering as the tech-heavy index is in the red (down at least 20% from the previous high).

The downfall is showing no signs of abating. Red-hot inflation, Russia-Ukraine war, heightened rising rate worries amid super-hawkish Fed cues have bummed out Wall Street this year. Overall, the S&P 500 is down 18% in 2022. The Nasdaq Composite is off 28%, the Dow Jones has lost about 17.3%, while the Russell 2000 has skidded 21.4% year to date.

The S&P 500 is on pace for its worst initial 100 days since 1970, when it nosedived 23.7%. The index is on the brink of a bear market. The S&P hasn't closed lower by more than 10% during its first 100 days since 1974.

And by the end of Wednesday, if the Dow can close above 31,826, it would then only be the worst first 100 trading days since 2020, when it dropped 12.4%. In 1970, the Dow declined 19.9%. On average, the index advances 2.8% through the first 100 trading days of a year, according to Dow Jones Market Data, as quoted on the investors.com article.

Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few ETFs that won amid this year’s bloodbath.

ETFs in Focus

United States Natural Gas ETF (UNG - Free Report) – Up 135.5%

Energy prices are rallying this year as the geopolitical turmoil between Russian and Ukraine aggravated concerns over energy supply. Natural gas jumped to the highest levels not seen in nearly 14 years, buoyed by tight supply conditions, adverse weather conditions and declining inventories.

Tuttle Capital Short Innovation ETF (SARK - Free Report) – Up 81.62%

This ETF is active and does not track a benchmark. The Tuttle Capital Short Innovation ETF is an actively managed exchange traded fund that attempts to achieve the inverse of the return of the ARK Innovation ETF for a single day. The fund is an inverse equity ETF. Since markets recorded a bloodbath this year, inverse equities ETFs had every reason to shine.

Teucrium Wheat ETF (WEAT - Free Report) – Up 63.69%

Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of grains. Both countries are major wheat producers. As the conflict shows no signs of easing, Ukrainian farmers are finding it difficult to plant crops. Supply chain disruptions are other concerns.

The underlying WHEAT FUTURES looks to reflect the daily changes of a weighted average of the closing prices for three futures contracts for wheat that are traded on the CBOT : the second-to-expire contract, the third-to-expire contract and the contract expiring in the December following the expiration month of the third-to-expire contract.

The Short DeSPAC ETF – Up 61.9%

The Short De-SPAC ETF is an actively managed exchange traded fund that attempts to achieve the inverse of the return of the De-SPAC Index. There was a rise of Black Check or Special Purchase Acquisition Company (SPAC) from 2020 as the Blank Check route for going public proved to be less complicated and pricey in the COVID scenario. However, the boom has started fading lately. Instead, the fundamentals behind inverse SPAC ETF look good.

Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF (PFIX - Free Report) – Up 37.6%

As the benchmark yields topped the 3%-level this year, ETFs that give protection against rising rates won. The Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF seeks to hedge interest rate movements arising from rising long-term interest rates, and benefit from market stress when fixed-income volatility increases, while offering income.  

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