Top ETFs Of July That Rose 10% Or More

All three key U.S. indexes posted their second consecutive monthly gains in July. Indexes hit an all-time high on hopes of a Fed rate cut with the U.S. central bank turning speculations into reality at the end of the month. Policy easing became a trend among central banks across the globe in the month.

Dow Jones crossed a historic 27,000 and the S&P 500 touched 3,000 for the first time in the month. The U.S.-China trade talks also set about. Earnings releases showed more soundness contrary to expectations. U.S. Q2 GDP growth slowed but beat estimates on strength in consumers activities. Many other U.S. economic data points were better than expected.

Against this backdrop, we highlight a few ETFs that were up at least 10% in July.

Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF BDRY — Up 23.1%

The fund measure rates for shipping dry bulk freight. The recent gains have largely been driven by a resumption of iron-ore shipments from Brazil, per Wall Street Journal. Expectations for more easing in global monetary policy, which could reenergize global growth, probably led many investors to this fund (read: Best & Worst Zones of 1H19 and Their ETFs).

ETFMG Prime Junior Silver ETF SILJ — Up 17.2%

Silver prices gained in July on “perceived bargain hunting” and moderate gains in the U.S. dollar (caused by Fed rate cut bets). Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund UUP added just 0.5% in the past month. As a result, SILJ, which follows a benchmark for investors interested in tracking public, small-cap companies that are active in silver mining exploration and production industry, gained significantly (read: 5 Best Stocks of the Top ETF of June).

VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) GDXJ — Up 13%

Rising geopolitical tensions, easy money policies of central banks in South Korea, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey as well as chances of rate cuts by the Fed and the ECB made gold a stellar investment area. The precious metal hit a six-year high recently, boosting gold mining stocks and ETFs. Investors should note that mining stocks act as a leveraged play of the underlying metal (read: Grab These ETFs & Stocks on Gold Rush).

iPath Series B Bloomberg Nickel Subindex Total Return ETN JJN — Up 13%

Nickel prices reached a one-year high in July, thanks to tight supply. Supplies declined on disruptions at a nickel smelter as well as floods and landslides in Indonesia, a major producer of the ore. According to ING, inventory at the London Metal Exchange dropped to the lowest level in six years to 149,000 tons, as quoted on Wall Street Journal. Bets on higher demand originating from an increase in electric-vehicle adoption and battery production also led to the rise in nickel price.

SPDR S&P Semiconductor (NYSE:XSD) ETF XSD — Up 10.6%

Semiconductor stocks performed well in July on a fresh start to U.S.-China trade talks. Though no signs of resolution are in sight, the talks suggest no further escalation in tariffs. Meanwhile, the world’s largest chipmaker — Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) — reported stronger-than-expected Q2 results. If this was not enough, an analyst from Sanford C. Bernstein noted that the present trade dispute between Japan and South Korea may potentially raise memory chip prices (read: Chip ETFs to Surge on Intel's Robust Q2 Results).

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