January was a strong month for Wall Street, with the S&P 500 gaining 3.18%, the Dow Jones rising 5.03% and the Nasdaq Composite adding 2.19% (as of Jan. 31 at 2:30 p.m.ET), though the latter was weighed down by declines in AI stocks following the DeepSeek rout. Several non-leveraged ETFs delivered strong returns in January, reflecting positive investor sentiment and broader market trends:

Amplify Commodity Trust Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF BWET — Up 19.12%

The ETF is the first freight futures exchange-traded fund focused solely on crude oil tanker freight rates. It follows the Breakwave Tanker Futures Index, tracking the future cost of transporting crude oil. Expense ratio is 3.5%. As of now, this ETF is the only one of this kind.

Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF NUKZ — Up 15.55%

This ETF invests in companies that dabble in the nuclear fuel and energy industry, especially in the areas of advanced reactors, utilities, construction and services, and fuel. Expense ratio is 0.85%.

Themes Gold Miners ETF AUMI — Up 12.9%

This fund tracks the Solactive Global Pure Gold Miners Index, benefiting from rising gold prices. The ETF charges 0.35% in fees.

KraneShares European Carbon Allowance Strategy ETF KEUA — Up 10%

KEUA follows the S&P Carbon Credit EUA Index. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.82% and yields 6.77% annually.

STKD Bitcoin & Gold ETF BTGD – Up 13%

This ETF reflects Bitcoin's 13% January gains and gold's journey to the best month since March 2024. The ETF has an expense ratio of 1.0% and an annual yield of 0.16%.

January In A Glimpse

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek made headlines by unveiling its R1 model, which was trained at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI's GPT-4, raising questions about the future of AI investments. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 4.25%-4.5%, signaling a cautious stance amid inflation concerns, while the Bank of Japan hiked its policy rate to 0.5% for the first time since 2008, strengthening the yen.

Global trade tensions escalated as President Donald Trump reaffirmed plans for a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, sparking concerns over economic disruptions. Despite these uncertainties, major U.S. banks reported strong fourth quarter earnings, driving investor optimism.

Entering February, markets remain focused on geopolitical risks, central bank decisions and corporate earnings that could tell us more about the economy in the months ahead.

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