S&P 500 Tops $2600: ETFs & Stocks That Deserve Special Thanks

The Thanksgiving week is a feast for stock investors even with low volumes and a holiday-shortened week. And this year Thanksgiving comes with a big bang as the Wall Street has scaled another record high approaching this major U.S. holiday (read: A Sumptuous Spread of ETFs & Stocks for Thanksgiving).

In particular, the S&P 500 index topped the milestone of 2,600 for the first time, representing the second-fastest 100-point journey in 67 days after the 50 days it took to go from 1,000 to 1,100 in 1998. With this, the S&P 500 is poised for the best year since 2013, rising 16% in the year-to-date time frame. Notably, tech stocks have been the big contributor to the market’s rally this year.

According to research firm Bespoke, the average returns of the S&P 500 have been 0.6% during Thanksgiving week since 1945. Also, the week has seen positive returns 75% of the time. In the years when the market is already up 10% or more, the Thanksgiving week was even stronger, gaining nearly 0.8% on average.

Encouraging domestic and international fundamentals as well as better-than-expected corporate earnings have been the major catalyst for the bull run. Americans have an optimistic view of the economy with confidence hitting the highest level in almost 17 years. Additionally, the passage of the tax bill by the House Republicans has led to increased confidence ahead of Thanksgiving. There is a higher probability that the biggest U.S. tax overhaul in three decades will come by the end of this year or early next year that will continue to keep the bullish trend alive (read: Small Cap ETFs Surge as House Passes Tax Bill).

Moreover, holiday optimism is pushing the stocks higher. While there have been winners in every corner of the space, a few ETFs & stocks have easily crushed the broad market in the year-to-date period. Below, we have presented a bunch of those that deserve special thanks and will continue to outperform in the coming months given that these have potentially superior weighting methodologies and a solid Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

ETFs

PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors Fund (TO:PSI) – Up 51%

This product follows the Dynamic Semiconductor Intellidex Index and offers exposure to 30 semiconductor firms. It has amassed $397 million in its asset base and trades in moderate average volume of around 81,000 shares a day. The product charges 63 bps in fees a year from investors and has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (read: Looking to Buy The Dips? Here Are ETF & Stock Picks).

iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (WA:ITB) – Up 50.1%

This fund provides a pure play to home construction stocks by tracking the Dow Jones U.S. Select Home Construction Index. With AUM of $2.3 billion, it holds a basket of 47 stocks while charges 44 bps in annual fees. The product trades in a heavy volume of around 2.7 million shares a day on average and carries a Zacks ETF Rank #2.

iShares North American Tech-Software ETF (SN:IGV) – Up 45.1%

This ETF provides exposure to the software segment of the broader U.S. technology space by tracking the S&P North American Technology-Software Index. Holding a basket of 57 securities, the fund charges 48 bps in annual fees and has AUM of $1.1 billion. Volume is good as it exchanges about 167,000 shares a day. IGV has a Zacks ETF Rank #1.

First Trust Technology AlphaDEX Fund (AX:FXL) – Up 40.1%

This fund offers exposure to the broad technology sector using AlphaDEX methodology. In total, it holds 78 securities in its basket with AUM of $1.6 billion. The ETF trades in good average daily volume of 285,000 shares and charges 63 bps in fees per year. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (read: 7 Top-Ranked Tech ETFs on Unstoppable Rally).

PowerShares Russell Top 200 Pure Growth Portfolio PXLG – Up 34.2%

This ETF offers exposure to the growth corner of the broad market by tracking the Russell Top 200 Pure Growth Index. It holds 68 securities in its basket and charges 39 bps in annual fees. The fund has amassed $188.5 million in its asset base but trades in a light volume of 11,000 shares a day on average. PXLG has a Zacks ETF Rank #1.

Stocks

Electro Scientific Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:ESIO) - Up 324.3%

This Oregon-based company is a supplier of laser-based microfabrication solutions for the microtechnology industry worldwide. The stock, with a market cap of $795.1 million, has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Style Score of B.

Calithera Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:CALA) – Up 211.5%

This is a California-based clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs directed against tumor metabolism and tumor immunology targets for the treatment of cancer. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Style Score of B. It has a market cap of $364.5 million.

Triton International Limited (NYSE:TRTN) – Up 145.0%

This Bermuda-based company is engaged in the acquisition, leasing, re-leasing, and sale of various intermodal containers and chassis to shipping lines, and freight forwarding companies and manufacturers. With a market cap of $3.23 billion, TRTN has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Style Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Kronos Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:KRO) – Up 140.1%

With a market cap of $3.20 billion, this is a Texas-based global producer and marketer of value-added titanium dioxide pigments. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Style Score of B (read: 4 Quality ETFs & Stocks for Market-Beating Returns).

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) – Up 117.3%

This Idaho-based company is one of the leading worldwide providers of semiconductor memory solutions. It has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Style Score of A. Market cap of MU is $53.23 billion.

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Triton International Limited (TRTN): Free Stock Analysis Report

Kronos Worldwide Inc (KRO): Free Stock Analysis Report

ISHARS-US HO CO (ITB): ETF Research Reports

PWRSH-DYN SEMI (PSI): ETF Research Reports

ISHARS-NA TEC-S (IGV): ETF Research Reports

FT-TECH ALPHA (FXL): ETF Research Reports

Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (ESIO): Free Stock Analysis Report

Calithera Biosciences, Inc. (CALA): Free Stock Analysis Report

Micron Technology, Inc. (MU): Free Stock Analysis Report

PWRSH-FP LG GR (PXLG): ETF Research Reports

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