Wall Street wrapped up its best week of 2024, buoyed by Donald Trump’s sweeping election victory and another rate cut by the Fed. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average registered their biggest weekly gain since early November 2023, gaining 4.7% each. The broad market index topped the 6,000 level for the first time, while the blue-chip index crossed the 44,000 level.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index touched 19,000 post-election for the first time and climbed more than 5% last week. Meanwhile, the small cap-focused Russell 2000 Index surged more than 8%. Given the broad-based rally, we have highlighted five ETFs from different areas that were the leaders last week. These include Simplify Volt Robocar Disruption and Tech ETF VCAR, First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry & Digital Economy ETF CRPT, Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF JSML, First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF AIRR, and Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF KBWR.
The market is betting that the second Trump administration will be good for riskier assets, given his more market-friendly policies. Trump supports lower corporate tax rates, deregulation and other policies that favor domestic growth, all of which would provide more stimulus to the U.S. economy. The anticipation of greater tariff barriers and a step to move manufacturing back home will drive stocks higher.
The Federal Reserve, in its meeting last week, slashed interest rates for the second time this year. It cut key interest rates by 25 bps, bringing down the benchmark rate to 4.5%-4.75%, following the 50-bps cut in September 2024. This reflects the Fed’s renewed focus on supporting the job market and fighting inflation (read: Fed Cuts Interest Rate Again: 5 ETFs Likely to Gain).
The Fed said that recent indicators suggest that “economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace,” and the “unemployment rate has moved up but remains low.” Inflation has fallen closer to the central bank’s target but “remains somewhat elevated.”
Electric carmaker Tesla TSLA reclaimed $1 trillion in market capitalization for the first time since 2022 as investors bet that Tesla and CEO Elon Musk will benefit from a potential Trump administration. Shares of TSLA soared 29% last week, marking the best weekly performance since the week ended Jan. 27, 2023.
AI darling NVIDIA NVDA achieved a historic milestone, becoming the first company to exceed $3.6 trillion in market capitalization. Due to its meteoric rise in market valuation, NVDA joined the 128-year-old blue-chip index, Dow Jones Industrial Average, last Friday, replacing chipmaker Intel (INTC). The reshuffle reflects a notable milestone, suggesting continued growth for the chipmaker. Most analysts believe NVIDIA will become far more valuable in the future due to its dominance in the billion-dollar AI chip market (read: ETFs to Buy on NVIDIA’s Historic Journey to $3.6 Trillion).
The world’s largest cryptocurrency surged, topping $82,000 for the first time after Donald Trump’s decisive victory. Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign and vowed to make the United States “the crypto capital of the planet.” The value of Bitcoin has now risen by more than 80% this year.
Simplify Volt Robocar Disruption and Tech ETF (VCAR) – Up 52.2%
Simplify Volt Robocar Disruption and Tech ETF is an actively managed ETF offering direct exposure to Tesla’s market-leading innovation across various high-growth sectors, including EVs, robotics, AI, and renewable energy. It concentrates on Tesla-related instruments, including common stock, ETFs, swaps, and options, to capture the growth potential of Tesla as a leader in electric vehicles and sustainable technologies (read: Tesla ETFs Soar on Trump Win: Should You Buy, Hold or Sell?).
Simplify Volt Robocar Disruption and Tech ETF charges investors 0.95% in annual fees and trades in average daily volume of 2,000 shares. It has accumulated $6 million in its asset base.
First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry & Digital Economy ETF (CRPT) – Up 36.2%
First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF is designed to provide exposure to companies that SkyBridge believes are driving cryptocurrency, crypto assets and digital economy-related innovation. SkyBridge identifies securities primarily via “bottom-up” research focused on finding companies leading in the crypto industry ecosystem.
First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry & Digital Economy ETF holds 35 stocks in its basket and charges 85 bps in fees per year from investors. It has amassed $78.3 million in its asset base and trades in an average daily volume of 45,000 shares.
Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSML) – Up 12.8%
Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF offers exposure to invest in resilient growth companies with proven operational excellence to provide investors with the opportunity to experience the long-term growth potential of the small-cap asset class through a variety of market environments. It follows the Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha Index (read: Small-Cap ETFs Set to Explode Under Trump Presidency).
Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF holds 205 stocks in its basket, with key holdings in industrials, healthcare, information technology, and financials. Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF has been able to manage assets worth $259 million and trades in a lower volume of 9,000 shares a day on average. It charges 30 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold).
First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR) – Up 12.3%
First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF offers exposure to small and mid-cap securities in the industrial and community banking sectors by tracking the Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance Index. It holds 54 stocks in its basket and charges 70 bps in annual fees.
First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF has $2.3 billion in AUM and trades in a good volume of around 207,000 shares per day on average. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy).
Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (KBWR) – Up 11.6%
Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF offers exposure to publicly traded U.S. regional banking and thrift companies by tracking the KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index. It holds 51 stocks in its basket.
Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF is a relatively less popular and less liquid option in the space, with AUM of $59.9 million and an average daily volume of 4,000 shares. It charges 35 bps in fees per year from investors and has a Zacks ETF Rank #4 (Sell) with a High risk outlook.
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NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR): ETF Research Reports
Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (KBWR): ETF Research Reports
Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSML): ETF Research Reports
First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF (CRPT): ETF Research Reports