April Showers On Wall Street: Miners, Utilities Emerge As Bright Spots In Gloomy Market
As April comes to a close, it’s time to compile the rankings for the top-performing sector and industry exchange-traded funds of the month.
Taking a broader look at the stock market, the S&P 500 Index, represented by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), finished April on a downturn, declining by approximately 3%. This marks the end of a five-month streak of gains.
Similarly, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ), experienced a 3.5% decline.
Among large-cap indices, blue-chip stocks showed slight underperformance, with the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) slipping by 4.5%.
Small-cap stocks, represented by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), plummeted by over 6%, marking their worst performance since October 2023.
Overall, it has been a challenging month for the stock market, primarily due to inflation surprises surpassing expectations. This has led to a recalibration of market expectations regarding potential Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Additionally, complex global geopolitical tensions have emerged, notably between Israel and Iran, alongside the ongoing issue in the Gaza Strip.
May is anticipated to start with a crucial event as investors await the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday.
While no interest rate changes are expected, all eyes will be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell‘s remarks to assess the Fed’s stance in response to recent inflation surprises.
Read also: Federal Reserve Meeting Preview: High Interest Rates ‘Need More Time To Work,’ Bank of America Says
Performance Of Sector ETFs In April 2024
At the sector level, only the utilities sector managed to avoid losses for the month, rising by 2.1%.
The largest stock contributors to the utilities’ performance in April are NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE), The Southern Company (NYSE:SO), Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) and NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) which showed monthly gains between 4% and 8%.
Energy stocks remained broadly stable, while the other nine S&P 500’s sectors showcased losses.
Real estate experienced the worst performance, down by over 7%, dragged down by its high sensitivity to interest rates, as Treasury yields increase across the board during the month.
Following real estate, the technology and healthcare sectors also showed poor performance in April.
April’s Best And Worst Sector ETFs: Utilities Lead, Real Estate Lags
| Sector | April 2024 performance |
|---|---|
| Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) | 2.06% |
| Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) | 0.01% |
| Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) | -1.11% |
| Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLI) | -3.23% |
| Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) | -3.68% |
| Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) | -3.85% |
| Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) | -4.13% |
| Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) | -4.24% |
| Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) | -4.78% |
| Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) | -4.85% |
| Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) | -7.83% |
Performance Of Industry ETFs In April 2024
Based on the industry ETF list provided by BlackRock Inc.’s (NYSE:BLK) iShares, only five out of the 25 industries managed to report gains in April. Among them, miners did well across the board, with silver, copper, and gold mining stocks reporting robust gains.
Standout contributors to the mining industry’s outperformance in April were Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS), up over 20%, Newmont Corp. (NYSE:NEM), up 14%, Anglo American plc (OTCPK: AAUKF), up over 40%
Energy producers also managed to end the month in the green.
On the bottom side of the industry rankings, homebuilders, transportation, biotech stocks, digital infrastructure and real estate all report losses between 7% and 9.6% in April.
| ETF Name | Performance |
|---|---|
| iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF (NYSE:SLVP) | 12.11% |
| iShares Copper and Metals Mining ETF (NYSE:COPX) | 9.50% |
| iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:RING) | 5.93% |
| iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF (NYSE:PICK) | 2.81% |
| iShares MSCI Global Energy Producers ETF (NYSE:FILL) | 2.46% |
| iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE:ITA) | -1.16% |
| iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE:IEO) | -1.37% |
| iShares Residential and Multisector Real Estate ETF (NYSE:REZ) | -1.66% |
| iShares Lithium Miners and Producers ETF (NYSE:ILIT) | -3.30% |
| iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchange ETF (NYSE:IAI) | -3.74% |
| iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF (NYSE:IYG) | -3.88% |
| iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (NYSE:IGM) | -4.37% |
| iShares Semiconductor ETF (NYSE:SOXX) | -4.40% |
| iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF (NYSE:IHF) | -4.79% |
| iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (NYSE:IAK) | -4.85% |
| iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (NYSE:IAT) | -5.11% |
| iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSE:IHE) | -5.38% |
| iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF (NYSE:IEZ) | -5.45% |
| iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF (NYSE:REM) | -5.57% |
| iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF (NYSE:IHI) | -5.75% |
| iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF (NYSE:WOOD) | -6.20% |
| iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (NYSE:IGV) | -6.76% |
| iShares U.S. Digital Infrastructure and Real Estate ETF (NYSE:IDGT) | -7.12% |
| iShares Biotechnology ETF (NYSE:IBB) | -7.23% |
| iShares U.S. Transportation ETF (NYSE:IYT) | -8.34% |
| iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (NYSE:ITB) | -9.60% |
Now read: AI Data Centers Drive Electricity Demand: Goldman Sachs Picks 16 Stocks To Play The Trend
Image generated using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.