Wall Street surged last week, marking strong weekly gains as market watchers raised its expectations for a significant interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 gained 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased 0.7%, both logging their fifth successive day of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, or about 300 points.
For the week, the Nasdaq rose more than 5%, marking its best performance of the year. U.S. semiconductor stocks logged a rally last week.The S&P 500 gained 4%, and the Dow increased by 2%. These gains came amid a volatile market, but the rapid recovery coincided with intensifying debate over interest rate policy.
Interest Rate Cut Expectations Rise
The market’s upward momentum was aided by increasing anticipation of a half-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, which was previously viewed as unlikely. Traders are now assigning a 49% probability to a 50-basis point cut next week, up from just 15% on Sept. 12, 2024.
This shift in expectations was aided by reports from the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal, suggesting the Fed's decision on Sept. 18 will be closely contested. Former New York Fed President Bill Dudley added to the speculation, stating there is a "strong case" for a deeper rate cut.
Treasury Yields Fall Amid Rate Cut Debate
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury declined to 3.66% on Sept. 13, 2024 from 3.70% recorded on Sept. 9, 2024. The recent fluctuations in Treasury yields reflect ongoing market uncertainty over whether the Fed will opt for a 0.25% or 0.5% rate cut, as concerns over a labor market weakness and recession risks continue to cause volatility.
Best-Performing ETFs of Last Week
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning exchange-traded funds (ETF)s of last week.
Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF SILJ – Up 18.2%
The underlying Nasdaq Metals Focus Silver Miners Index tracks the performance of the equity securities of silver companies, subject to the market capitalization screen. The fund charges 69 bps in fees.
iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF SLVP – Up 17.2%
The MSCI ACWI Select Silver Miners Investable Market Index measure the combined performance of equity securities of companies primarily engaged in the business of silver mining in both developed and emerging markets. It also includes companies that are in the exploration phase of silver or involved in the production of other precious metals. The fund charges 39 bps in fees.
Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF WGMI – Up 16.9%
The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund that will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of companies that derive at least 50% of their revenue or profits from bitcoin mining operations and from providing specialized chips, hardware and software or other services to companies engaged in bitcoin mining. The fund charges 75 bps in fees.
Global X Silver Miners ETF SIL – Up 16.8%
The underlying Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index seeks to measure broad-based equity market performance of global companies involved in the silver mining industry. The fund charges 65 bps in fees.
VanEck Digital Transformation ETF DAPP – Up 15.2%
The MVIS Global Digital Assets Equity Index is a rules-based, modified capitalization weighted, float adjusted index intended to give investors a means of tracking the overall performance of the global digital asset segment. The fund charges 51 bps in fees.
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Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL): ETF Research Reports
Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF (SILJ): ETF Research Reports
iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF (SLVP): ETF Research Reports
VanEck Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP): ETF Research Reports