Wall Street offered a flat performance last week with the S&P 500 (down 0.1%), the Dow Jones (down 0.23%), the Nasdaq (down 0.4%) and the Russell 2000 (up 0.6%) returning in the range of down 0.4% to up 0.6%. Presently, Wall Street is preoccupied with the earnings season and has received varied corporate results. Though most companies exceeded the modest predictions of analysts, investors were left unsettled by the absence of forecasts from major companies.

U.S. banking earnings have probably not been so awaited since the 2008 financial crisis. Investors’ view toward the banking sector has dwindled this year, thanks to the U.S. regional banking crisis emanating in March 2023. However, much to the pleasant surprises of investors, as many as five out of six big U.S. banks were able to beat overall, while one bank came up with mixed results (read: Time for Big Bank ETFs on Upbeat Earnings?).

Meanwhile, China's economy showed a significant increase in the first quarter of 2023. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.5% in Q1, which is the highest growth rate since the same period last year, when the economy grew by 4.8%. This growth rate is also better than 4%, which was forecast in a Reuters’ poll. Additionally, the economy grew 2.2% sequentially (read: China on High Growth Trajectory: ETFs That Are in Momentum).

Against this backdrop, below, we highlight a few winning ETF areas of last week.

Biotech

Alps Medical Breakthroughs ETF (SBIO Quick QuoteSBIO - Free Report) – Up 10.2%

Virtus Lifesci Biotech Clinical Trials ETF (BBC Quick QuoteBBC - Free Report) – Up 8.9%

The biopharma space is hot with mergers and acquisitions. In the first quarter of this year, total healthcare and life sciences M&A in the United States was about $71 billion, more than double the $28 billion seen in the same quarter last year, according to KPMG, as quoted on barrons.com. Plus, a solid pipeline of research and developments and the incorporation of AI in the R&D division have also been driving prices.

Platinum

Ipatha.B Platinum Subindex TR ETN – Up 8.1%

Graniteshares Platinum Shares ETF (PLTM Quick QuotePLTM - Free Report) – Up 7.7%

Platinum is offering value pricing. The precious metal is currently outperforming gold and silver. According to some analysts, while technical momentum is acting as a tailwind to platinum prices, the market also has strong fundamentals, supporting what could be a sustainable rally in the precious metal. Analysts note that improving economic data in China is also supporting robust platinum jewelry demand, as quoted on kitco.com. Also, the combination of factors like power cuts in South Africa, the war in Ukraine and the increased production of hybrid cars are driving prices higher.

Total Portfolio ETFs

Simplify Propel Opportunities ETF (SURI Quick QuoteSURI - Free Report) – Up 7.3%

The Simplify Propel Opportunities ETF seeks to provide long-term growth of capital by providing investors with exposure to biotech, pharma, healthcare technology and life science companies that are believed to be overlooked by investors, thereby presenting significant opportunities for capital appreciation. The fund yields 4.52% annually.

Homebuilding

US Home Construction iShares ETF (ITB Quick QuoteITB - Free Report) – Up 5%

Homebuilding stocks and ETFs gained last week on upbeat corporate earnings and upbeat sector data. The nationwide median sale price for existing homes rose slightly month over month in March to $375,700. However, it dropped 0.9% year over year. The year-over-year decline in price has been seen for two successive months following a long period of price increases. Before that, the U.S. housing market saw 131 consecutive months of year-over-year median sale price increases (read: Housing ETFs Up on D.R. Horton's Upbeat Earnings).