4 Top-Performing ETF Areas of Last Week

Wall Street was moderately upbeat last week, with the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Russell 2000 adding about 0.6%, 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite remaining flat. The benchmark U.S. treasury yield was 4.25% on Jun 21, 2024 versus 4.20% recorded at the start of the week.

Last week, in a historic milestone, NVIDIA NVDA rallied further to become the world's most valuable company, topping Microsoft MSFT. The artificial intelligence chipmaker topped $3.33 trillion in market value on Jun 18 compared with the software giant's $3.31 trillion market cap.

However, NVIDIA's ascent was short-lived and profit booking dragged down the company by the end of the week. NVIDIA was down 2.5% last week.

Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales that released last week were weaker than expected in May. Sales rose just 0.1% sequentially, one-tenth of a percentage point below the Dow Jones estimate. However, the result was slightly better than the downwardly revised 0.2% decline in April. Such soft retail sales boosted the probability of a sooner-than-expected Fed rate cut.

On the housing data front, U.S. homebuilder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell to 43 in June, down two points from May. This marks the lowest reading since December 2023. Sales of existing homes in the United States fell for three successive months in May while prices hit another record.

Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few best-performing ETF areas of last week.

ETFs in Focus

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF EZA – Up 7.1%

South Africa's currency and stock market strengthened after Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn as the country's president for a second term having struck a power-sharing agreement with the opposition Democratic Alliance. This stability offered strength to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange last week, which has otherwise suffered post-election.

Abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF PALL – Up 6.6%

Palladium prices hit three-week highs last week. Palladium is the key metal to internal combustion cars. Hopes of their renewed popularity probably boosted the price. Plus, expectations around lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve have played its role in driving the metal prices.

abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF MSOS – Up 5.2%

Like several occasional trading before, cannabis stocks probably rallied last week as the U.S. Department of Justice lately launched a historic proposal to ease restrictions on marijuana. Under the proposal, cannabis would be reclassified from a so-called Schedule I drug (which are considered highly additive with no medical benefits) to a Schedule III (which has moderate to low chances for physical and psychological dependence).

SonicShares Global Shipping ETF BOAT – Up 4.9%

Geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea, a crucial area for international trade, have sparked a significant shift in the global shipping industry, drove ocean freight rates higher and offered a bullish case for global shipping stocks.

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