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Investors poured $406.1 billion into ETFs in the first half of 2024, double of $200.6 billion recorded in the year-ago period. U.S. equity ETFs led the way higher with $223.1 billion in inflows, followed by $90 billion in U.S. fixed-income ETFs and $55.9 billion in international equity ETFs.Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO – Free Report), iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV – Free Report), BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT – Free Report), Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ – Free Report) and Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI – Free Report) dominated the top creation list in the first half.Wall Street wrapped up a blockbuster first half of the year. The S&P 500 index gained a whopping 14.5% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.8%. The Nasdaq Composite Index emerged as an outperformer, climbing 18.1%. The ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) craze, rate-cut bets and strong corporate profit growth were the biggest catalysts in driving the stocks higher and will continue to do so for the rest of the year. Wall Street analysts have become more bullish on stocks, citing these as a strong combination of factors.The “Magnificent Seven” was the biggest engine of growth for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. About 60% of the gains were driven by “mega-cap” tech companies — NVIDIA (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Apple (AAPL). NVIDIA alone accounted for 31% of the market’s first-half advance. This technology-driven momentum is expected to continue at least through the summer.In the latest FOMC meeting, U.S. policymakers penciled in just one rate cut for this year and projected four cuts for 2025. The Fed altered language in its statement, noting there has been “modest further progress toward the committee’s 2% inflation objective.” Previously, the statement pointed to a “lack” of further progress. Low rates reduce the cost of borrowing, often needed to finance the expansion of companies, thereby driving growth in the economy. It typically reduces the attractiveness of fixed-income investments like bonds, leading investors to seek higher returns in the equity markets.Earnings are expected to remain robust for the second quarter. Per Zacks Earnings Trends report, second-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 index are expected to be up 8.3% from the same period last year on 4.6% higher revenues. This is the highest quarterly earnings growth pace since 9.9% growth in the first quarter of 2022 and would follow 6.7% earnings growth on 3.2% revenue gains in the first quarter of 2024.Further, a strong first half for the S&P 500 Index historically bodes well for the rest of the year. Since the early 1950s, when the index climbs more than 10% through June, it rises by a median of roughly 10% in the second half, per data compiled by Bloomberg. However, elevated valuations, the U.S. presidential election in November and uncertainty about the path of interest-rate cuts will weigh on stocks in the second half of this year.We have detailed the ETFs below:Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)Vanguard S&P 500 ETF topped the asset flow creation last week, gathering $40.4 billion in capital. It tracks the S&P 500 Index and holds 504 stocks in its basket, each accounting for no more than 7% of the assets. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is heavy on the information technology sector, while financials, healthcare and consumer discretionary round off the next three spots with a double-digit allocation each.Vanguard S&P 500 ETF charges investors 3 bps in annual fees and trades in an average daily volume of 4 million shares. It has AUM of $474.8 billion and a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)iShares Core S&P 500 ETF gathered $28.2 billion in capital. It tracks the S&P 500 Index and holds 503 stocks in its basket, each accounting for no more than 7.4% of the assets. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF is heavy on the information technology sector, while financials, healthcare and consumer discretionary round off the next three spots with a double-digit allocation each.iShares Core S&P 500 ETF charges investors 3 bps in annual fees. It has an AUM of $494.1 billion and a Zacks ETF Rank #1 with a Medium risk outlook.BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust raked in $17.6 billion in capital in the first six months of 2024. It seeks to reflect the performance of the price of Bitcoin. It enables investors to access Bitcoin within a traditional brokerage account. The fund charges 25 bps in annual fees from investors. However, the fee is set to be 0.12% for the first 12 months or on the first $5 billion in assets.BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust has an AUM of $19.4 billion and trades in a volume of 23.4 million shares.  Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ)Invesco QQQ Trust saw an inflow of $16 billion. It provides exposure to the 102 largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq by tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index. Invesco QQQ is moderately concentrated on the top two firms, with an 8.7% share each.Invesco QQQ is one of the largest and most popular ETFs in the large-cap space, with an AUM of $289.4 billion and an average daily volume of 23 million shares. QQQ charges investors 20 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy), with a Medium risk outlook.Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI)Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF gathered $14.4 billion in capital. It provides exposure to the broader stock market by tracking the CRSP US Total Market Index. Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF holds a large basket of well-diversified 3,704 stocks with key holdings in technology, consumer discretionary, industrials, healthcare, and financials.Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF charges 3 bps in fees per year from investors and trades in an average daily volume of 2.5 million shares. VTI has amassed $409 billion in its asset base and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a Medium risk outlook.More By This Author:Tap Tesla’s Better-Than-Expected Q2 Deliveries With These ETFsTop-Ranked ETFs That Outperformed The Market In 1HTop And Flop ETFs Of The First Half