Wall Street was upbeat in June, with the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq advancing 3.5%, 1.1% and 6%, respectively. The Russell 2000, however, saw a 1.1% dip. The S&P 500 topped the 5,500 level for the first time last week, after hitting the 5,400 mark earlier this month and 5,300 last month, indicating investors' confidence. Technology remained the best-performing sector in June.
NVIDIA and Amazon reached $3 trillion and $2 trillion market cap, respectively, in June. NVIDIA (which became the world's most valuable company briefly in the month), Apple (which also attained the height for a while) and Microsoft remained in the race to become the world's most valuable company.
In the last FOMC meeting early last month, U.S. policymakers penciled in just one rate cut for this year and indicated four cuts in 2025. Meanwhile, inflation data released throughout the month showed signs of easing.
The European Central Bank (ECB), too, cut its key interest rate, marking the first reduction since September 2019. This move took the rate down from its previous record of 4% to 3.75%, which has been maintained since September 2023.
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning ETF areas of June.
Top ETFs by Sector in the Past Month
Crypto Miners ETFs
Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF WGMI – Up 22.7%
Bitcoin lost about 10% in its price in June (probably due to higher greenback), which in turn, put pressure on crypto stocks. But crypto stocks recorded gains last week as sentiments improved. Notably, the fund WGMI started an uphill ride from Jun 3 and hit a monthly high on Jun 20, after which it started to drop. Shares of companies like Hut 8 Corp HUT jumped 66.9% in June, driving the ETF WGMI despite bitcoin's monthly slump.
Healthcare ETFs
Simplify Health Care ETF PINK – Up 8.2%
The fund has exposure to companies in biotech, med-tech, gene therapy and other fast-growing healthcare-related industries. Its top holdings section is dominated by some renowned med-tech names. The industry is estimated to record $210.00 billion in 2024, according to Statista.
Going forward, a steady annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 4.87% is expected for the industry, resulting in a market volume of $266.40 billion by 2029. Meanwhile, the big pharma companies are coming up with new drug data.
India ETFs
iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF SMIN – Up 7.2%
India's potential for growth makes it an attractive choice for investors. Strong private consumption is a plus for the fund. Additionally, an increasing workforce population and a surge in new business establishments are favorable. Prime minister Modi's win in the third term has finally boosted the stock market, though it initially slumped during the announcement of the election results.
Master Limited Partnerships ETFs
InfraCap MLP ETF AMZA – Up 7%
The WTI crude ETF United States Oil Fund LP has advanced 4% in June. This has probably boosted MLP ETFs. MLPs catch investors' eyes as these do not pay taxes at the entity level and are thus able to pay out most of their income (more than 90%) in the form of dividends like the REIT firms. The fund AMZA yields 7.30% annually.
If this was not enough, the Fed is likely to cut interest rates later this year. Since MLPs depend on a huge debt burden, if interest rates dive, MLPs will not have to pay higher for the huge chunk of borrowed money, which may, in turn, help them to raise/maintain their dividend payout ratio.
Magnificent Seven ETFs
Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF MAGS – Up 6.9%
The "Magnificent Seven" — which includes NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla — has contributed to much of the stock market's rally. NVIDIA was up 7.6%, Apple gained 10.7%, Microsoft climbed 4.1%, Amazon added 6.2%, Alphabet inched up 3.4%, Meta jumped 6.3% and Tesla surged 12.3%.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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