Image Source: PixabayAfter the worst monthly decline in many months in April, Wall Street staged a nice comeback on renewed Fed rate cut bets, ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) developments, and strong corporate profits. With just a trading day left to end the second quarter, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index outperformed, rising 9%, while the Dow Jones underperformed, losing nearly 1.6%. The broad market S&P 500 Index gained 4.3%.Technology remained the best-performing sector of the second quarter on the AI drive, while energy lagged. In particular, the “Magnificent Seven” was the biggest engine of growth for the S&P 500, accounting for 31% of the weightage in the index.We have highlighted five top-performing ETFs from different sectors of the market that have led the way higher in the second quarter. These are SonicShares Global Shipping ETF (BOAT – Free Report), Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI – Free Report), iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF (SLVP – Free Report), Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS – Free Report) and Fidelity Disruptive Communications ETF (FDCF – Free Report).Three stocks — NVIDIA (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), and Microsoft (MSFT) — in the “Magnificent Seven” group are in a race to become the world’s most valuable company and hit a market capitalization of $4 trillion on surging enthusiasm over AI capabilities. The expansion of AI applications holds the promise of ushering in fresh growth opportunities. E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) also topped $2 trillion in market cap for the first time in the latest trading session.In the latest FOMC meeting, U.S. policymakers penciled in just one rate cut for this year and indicated four cuts for 2025. Lower interest rates generally lead to reduced borrowing costs, helping businesses to expand operations easily and resulting in increased profitability. This, in turn, will stimulate economic growth and provide a boost to the stock market.
ETFs in Focus
Let’s dig into the details of the abovementioned ETFs:SonicShares Global Shipping ETF – Up 22.5%Global shipping stocks surged amid global geopolitical tensions and solid corporate earnings that drove up ocean freight rates. SonicShares Global Shipping ETF provides pure-play exposure to the global maritime shipping industry by tracking the Solactive Global Shipping Index. The index consists of global shipping companies engaged in the maritime transportation of goods and raw materials, including consumer and industrial products, vehicles, dry bulk, crude oil and liquefied natural gas.SonicShares Global Shipping ETF holds 49 stocks in its basket and has amassed $55 million in its asset base since. The fund charges 69 bps in annual fees and trades in an average daily volume of 24,000 shares.Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF – Up 17.7%Though Bitcoin price dropped below $60,000, investors’ interest in the mining sector surged following Core Scientific’s (CORZ) deal with AI company CoreWeave in early June. Core Scientific signed a 200 megawatts (MW) artificial intelligence deal with the cloud computing firm, triggering a rally in the bitcoin mining sector.Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF is an actively managed ETF that invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in securities of companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues or profits from bitcoin mining operations and/or from providing specialized chips, hardware and software or other services to companies engaged in bitcoin mining. Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF holds 21 stocks in its basket with a double-digit concentration on the top two firms. It has amassed $127.9 million in its asset base while trading in an average daily volume of 358,000 shares. WGMI charges 75 bps in annual fees.iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF – Up 17.4%Silver broke $30 per ounce for the first time in decades last month, bolstered by fresh bets on a Fed rate cut. A projected fourth annual market deficit, increased industrial demand, rising geopolitical tension and uncertainties ahead of general elections in major economies added to the strength. In fact, silver miners are the biggest beneficiaries of a surge in silver prices. These act as a leveraged play on underlying metal prices and thus tend to experience more gains than their bullion cousins in a rising metal market.iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF follows the MSCI ACWI Select Silver Miners Investable Market Index, providing investors exposure to companies that derive the majority of revenues from silver exploration or metals mining. It holds 29 stocks in its basket, with Canadian firms making up the lion’s share at 66.4%, while the United States and Mexico round off the next spots. iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF has AUM of $216.9 million and an average daily volume of about 156,000 shares. It charges 39 bps in annual fees.Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF – Up 16.4%Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF is the first-ever ETF that offers investors equal-weight exposure to the “Magnificent Seven” stocks. It has amassed $478.6 million in its asset base and charges 29 bps in fees per year. MAGS trades in an average daily volume of 200,000 shares.Fidelity Disruptive Communications ETF – Up 11.5%Fidelity Disruptive Communications ETF seeks exposure to securities of disruptive communications companies engaged in social media, next-generation digital infrastructure, and connected devices (e.g., 5G communications and cloud networking). It holds 42 stocks in its basket, with communication services taking the largest share at 46.5%, followed by information technology, which has a 30.2% share.Fidelity Disruptive Communications ETF has amassed $53.5 million in its asset base and trades in a volume of 6,000 shares per day on average. It charges 50 bps in annual fees.More By This Author:FedEx Stock Jumps On Q4 Earnings Beat: ETFs Likely To GainBest And Worst ETF Zones Of Q25 Most Loved ETFs Of Last Week
