As July comes to an end, it's time to take a look at the best- and worst-performing industry ETFs for the month.
Among the largest ETFs that represent major U.S. stock indices, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) returned 3.1% in July, marking its fifth consecutive month of gains. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE: DIA) had similar monthly performance, but the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) outperformed by 3.8%. The strongest performer, though, was the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE: IWM), which increased by 4.9%.
Which industries have performed significantly better than the overall market? Which ones, on the other hand, had a particularly rough month despite the broader risk-on period?
5 Top Performing Industry ETFs In July
5) Semiconductors - VanEck Semiconductors ETF (NYSE: SMH)
- Total return month-to-date: 5%
- Total return year-to-date: 58.8%
- Top holdings: NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) (20%), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM) (10.74%), Broadcom Inc. (5.64%) (NASDAQ: AVGO)
- Monthly stock contributors: Nvidia (2.8 percentage points), Lam Research Corp. (NYSE: LRCX) (0.6pp), Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) (0.5pp)
4) Agriculture - VanEck Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO)
- Total return month-to-date: 7.8%
- Total return year-to-date: 3.1%
- Top holdings: Zoetis Inc. ZTS (8.6%), Deere & Company DE (8.33%)
- Monthly stock contributors: Zoetis Inc. (1pp); Archer-Daniels-Midland Company ADM (0.9pp);
3) Oil & Gas - SPDR Oil & Gas Explor. & Prod. ETF (NYSE: XOP)
- Total return month-to-date: 10.1%
- Total return year-to-date: 11%
- Top holdings: Antero Resources Corp. (NYSE: AR) (2.6%), SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) (2.5%)
- Monthly stock contributors: Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE: OVV) (0.6pp); APA Corp. (NYSE: APA) (0.5pp)
2) Oil services - VanEck Oil Services (NYSE: OIH)
- Total return month-to-date: 18.9%
- Total return year-to-date: 18.4%
- Top holdings: Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) (19.6%); Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) (11%).
- Monthly stock contributors: Schlumberger Ltd. (4pp); Halliburton Company (2.2pp)
1) Regional Banks - SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSE: KRE)
- Total return month-to-date: 19.8%
- Total return year-to-date: -16.2%
- Top holdings: Western Alliance Bancorp. (NYSE: WAL) (2.4%), Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NYSE: PNFP) (2.3%).
- Monthly stock contributors: Western Alliance Bancorp. (0.85pp); ZIONS Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION) (0.8pp)
5 Worst Performing Industry ETFs In July
5) Water Resources - Invesco Water Resources ETF (NYSE: PHO)
- Total return month-to-date: 2.9%
- Total return year-to-date: 12.6%
- Top holdings: Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) (8.1%), Ecolab Inc. (NASDAQ: ECL) (8%), Ferguson Plc
(NYSE: FERG) (8%).
- Monthly stock draggers: Valmont Industries Inc. (NYSE: VMI) (-0.3pp); Mueller Industries Inc. (NYSE: MLI) (-0.1pp).
4) Biotech - iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB)
- Total return month-to-date: 2.1%
- Total return year-to-date: down by 0.3%
- Top holdings: Amgen Inc. (NYSE: AMGN) (8.5%), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) (8.5%)
- Monthly stock draggers: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: APLS) (-0.7pp); Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) (-0.3pp).
3) Real Estate - Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NASDAQ: VNQ)
- Total return month-to-date: 2%
- Total return year-to-date: 3.3%
- Top holdings: Prologis Inc. (NASDAQ: PLD) (7.6%), American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) (6%).
- Monthly stock draggers: CoStar Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) (-0.2pp), Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) (-0.2pp)
2) Airlines - U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE: JETS)
- Total return month-to-date: down by 0.4%
- Total return year-to-date: 25.9%
- Top holdings: Delta Airlines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) (10.8%), American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) (9.8%).
- Monthly stock draggers: American Airlines Group Inc. (-0.5pp), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) (-0.4pp)
1) Solar - Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE: TAN)
- Total return month-to-date: down by 3.3%
- Total return year-to-date: down by 4.4%
- Top holdings: First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) (11.1%), Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) (9.1%)
- Monthly stock draggers: SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) (-0.7pp), SMA Solar Technology AG (OTC: SMTGF) (-0.6pp).