We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Brazil small-cap ETFs rallied on election-related optimism.
Tanker shipping ETFs gained amid rising Strait of Hormuz risks.
Utilities, cybersecurity and cloud ETFs benefited from AI-driven demand.
Wall Street just recorded an upbeat week, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.2%, the Dow Jones adding 0.9%, the Nasdaq Composite inching up 0.6%, while the Russell 2000 lost 0.9%. Let’s find out which ETF areas stood out last week and beat the market.
Winning ETF Areas
Brazil
Brazil’s Bovespa index surged last week after right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro won 47% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, ahead of incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s roughly 45%, defying polls that had projected Lula to lead.
The two candidates will contest in a runoff on Oct. 25. Since the right-wing candidate gained the majority, the stock market reacted favorably.
VanEck Brazil Small-Cap ETF (BRF - Free Report) – Up 11%
iShares MSCI Brazil Small-Cap ETF (EWZS - Free Report) – Up 9.8%
Tanker Shipping
About 11 tankers faced attack while transiting Hormuz during the week that ended Oct. 4, the maximum number of strikes on commercial ships since the war began, per CNBC. The rise in attacks comes as Middle Eastern crude oil exports recovered to prewar levels in September, supported by U.S. military efforts.
Due to rising risks, many tankers are likely to avoid chokepoints and take the long detour. These journeys will take weeks longer, tying up the global fleet. At the same time, marine insurance companies have raised their fees dramatically. As a result, tanker shipping ETF surged.
U.S. utility stocks rose last week. The main catalyst was Constellation Energy (CEG - Free Report) , which jumped about 15% after Google announced a 20-year nuclear power agreement to secure 890 megawatts of electricity, reinforcing expectations that AI data centers will drive long-term power demand. Utilities ETFs heavy on the CEG stock jumped mainly.
Despite prevailing concerns over AI safety, elevated valuations and financing risks, Wall Street remains optimistic about AI’s long-term potential. Growing AI adoption, however, is increasing cybersecurity risks, as sophisticated cyberattacks and rogue AI agents threaten sensitive data and infrastructure.
This trend, alongside geopolitical tensions and rising cyberwarfare, could boost cybersecurity spending. With cybersecurity demand spanning market cycles and becoming essential to AI deployment, cybersecurity ETFs have been surging in recent weeks.
Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG - Free Report) – Up 6.6%
WisdomTree Cybersecurity Fund (WCBR - Free Report) – Up 5.9%
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing stocks jumped last week on renewed optimism about AI-driven cloud demand and the potential for Big Tech to monetize its massive AI investments. Investors were looking for signs that accelerating cloud adoption and growing revenue backlogs at companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Oracle could justify their spending on AI infrastructure.
Goldman Sachs expects year-over-year cloud revenue growth among major providers to accelerate from 48% in the second quarter to 55% in the third quarter, strengthening expectations for continued growth, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund (WCLD - Free Report) – Up 5.8%
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
5 Market-Beating ETF Areas of Last Week
Key Takeaways
Wall Street just recorded an upbeat week, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.2%, the Dow Jones adding 0.9%, the Nasdaq Composite inching up 0.6%, while the Russell 2000 lost 0.9%. Let’s find out which ETF areas stood out last week and beat the market.
Winning ETF Areas
Brazil
Brazil’s Bovespa index surged last week after right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro won 47% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, ahead of incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s roughly 45%, defying polls that had projected Lula to lead.
The two candidates will contest in a runoff on Oct. 25. Since the right-wing candidate gained the majority, the stock market reacted favorably.
VanEck Brazil Small-Cap ETF (BRF - Free Report) – Up 11%
iShares MSCI Brazil Small-Cap ETF (EWZS - Free Report) – Up 9.8%
Tanker Shipping
About 11 tankers faced attack while transiting Hormuz during the week that ended Oct. 4, the maximum number of strikes on commercial ships since the war began, per CNBC. The rise in attacks comes as Middle Eastern crude oil exports recovered to prewar levels in September, supported by U.S. military efforts.
Due to rising risks, many tankers are likely to avoid chokepoints and take the long detour. These journeys will take weeks longer, tying up the global fleet. At the same time, marine insurance companies have raised their fees dramatically. As a result, tanker shipping ETF surged.
Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (BWET - Free Report) – Up 10.8%
Utilities
U.S. utility stocks rose last week. The main catalyst was Constellation Energy (CEG - Free Report) , which jumped about 15% after Google announced a 20-year nuclear power agreement to secure 890 megawatts of electricity, reinforcing expectations that AI data centers will drive long-term power demand. Utilities ETFs heavy on the CEG stock jumped mainly.
Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF (UTES - Free Report) – Up 6.9%
Cybersecurity
Despite prevailing concerns over AI safety, elevated valuations and financing risks, Wall Street remains optimistic about AI’s long-term potential. Growing AI adoption, however, is increasing cybersecurity risks, as sophisticated cyberattacks and rogue AI agents threaten sensitive data and infrastructure.
This trend, alongside geopolitical tensions and rising cyberwarfare, could boost cybersecurity spending. With cybersecurity demand spanning market cycles and becoming essential to AI deployment, cybersecurity ETFs have been surging in recent weeks.
Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG - Free Report) – Up 6.6%
WisdomTree Cybersecurity Fund (WCBR - Free Report) – Up 5.9%
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing stocks jumped last week on renewed optimism about AI-driven cloud demand and the potential for Big Tech to monetize its massive AI investments. Investors were looking for signs that accelerating cloud adoption and growing revenue backlogs at companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Oracle could justify their spending on AI infrastructure.
Goldman Sachs expects year-over-year cloud revenue growth among major providers to accelerate from 48% in the second quarter to 55% in the third quarter, strengthening expectations for continued growth, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund (WCLD - Free Report) – Up 5.8%