Last week was a modest one for U.S. markets with SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) ETF ( (V:DIA) ) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) ( (AX:SPY) ) adding 0.7% each and the Nasdaq-based Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) advancing 0.5%.
Key events of the week were dovish Fed minutes, blockbuster jobs data, oil price rally, news of declining iPhone demand thus hurting some tech ETFs and subdued retail sales data from Macy’s for the holiday quarter weighing on the retail space.
Against this backdrop, we highlight a few ETF winners of last week.
Toppers
ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF ( (SNX:MJ) ) — Up 13.6%
Marijuana stocks have been on a tear on positive news. First, the stock of pot-producer Tilray jumped on Friday, after a private-equity firm, which is the company’s controlling stockholder affirmed that it won’t sell shares when Tilray’s IPO lockup expires on Jan 15.
Also, several research houses have shown positive response in pot stocks of late. Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on the cannabis industry. There is also Cowen analyst Vivien Azer, one of the first from key firms to track the sector. Azer issued her 2019 cannabis outlook recently and upped the projection for U.S. sales to $80 billion by 2030.
ALPS Medical Breakthroughs ETF ( (SI:SBIO) ) — Up 11.0%
The underlying Poliwogg Medical Breakthroughs Index captures research & development opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. It consists of small-cap and mid-cap pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks listed on U.S. stock exchanges that have one or more drugs in either Phase II or Phase III U.S. FDA clinical trials.
Drugmakers started 2019 with price hikes in the United States on more than 250 prescription drugs. This along with some positive study data from some pharma companies has probably helped biotech companies.
BMO Elkhorn DWA MLP Select ETN (BMLP) — Up 8.9%
The underlying DWA MLP Select Index includes 15 MLPs and seeks to determine which MLPs are currently outperforming peers within the Index universe. As oil prices have been steady at the start of 2019, this MLP ETF performed well last week. The product yields 6.74% annually, which could be appealing for investors in a situation the Fed vows to take a patient stance on the rate hike trajectory.
SPDR Kensho Smart Mobility ETF (XKST) — Up 8.1%
The fund comprises U.S.-listed equity securities of companies domiciled across developed and emerging markets and which captures companies whose products and services are driving innovation behind smart transportation. This fund is a reflective of future global growth and technological advancement (read: Profit from the New Economy with These AI Powered ETFs).
Global X E-commerce ETF EBIZ — Up 8.1%
The fund provides exposure to companies that are positioned to benefit from the increased adoption of e-commerce as a distribution model. United States accounts for about half of the fund followed by China (24.24%), Japan (8.68%) and United Kingdom (7.97%).
The unprecedented growth of e-commerce has been driving the fund. Notably, online retailing hit a home run this holiday season as evident from upbeat Thanksgiving and Black Friday data. In fact, this holiday shopping season has been the best in six years. The online activity has also been gaining momentum globally (read: New Online Retail ETF is on the Block).
Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?
Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>
Original post
Zacks Investment Research