Battery-Value Chain Gains Momentum

ETFs tracking the value chain linked to battery production were among the best performers over the week, with the niche theme topping the performance charts with a gain of 2.274%.

Traditional financial wisdom would argue against placing too much stock on weekly trends, however, and instead maintain a focus on year-to-date performance where unfortunately ETFs aligned to the battery-value chain - and other industrial sectors - have borne the brunt of downturn pressures.  Current performance for the year sits at a low 1.453%, meaning the theme had been in negative territory until the last week

Many speculators are linking the weekly ETF performance boost to the recent pricing model overhaul of Tesla’s Model Y variant. With the company slashing prices considerably – no doubt thanks to the generous tax rebates electric vehicles now qualify for stateside - its luxury-pegged Model Y is fast becoming an attractive bargain compared to gas-powered equivalents.

However, it’s unlikely that this positive performance trend can be solely attributed to Tesla given its own stock dipped into the red over the week, falling by 3.61%. Data from the China Passenger Car Association indeed indicates a 10.9% drop in Tesla sales last month compared to the same period in 2022. 

Instead, our focus should return to lithium stocks - valuable components within any battery-value chain.

The lithium sector received a significant boost from two key players over the week: Albemarle Corporation (ALB) and Standard Lithium Ltd. (SLI), both of which are lithium suppliers that have gained strong support in market sentiment.

Battery Value-Chain ETFs typically hold a significant portion of their assets in Albemarle Corporation stocks which were up 2.21% over the week. This uptick could likely be attributed to higher productivity across its lithium plants, a significant rise in demand, and substantially increasing the volume of lithium they process.

Moreover, the market responded positively to the announcement of Albemarle’s future plans which include taking over Liontown, an Australian lithium major based out of Perth.

The other star, Standard Lithium Ltd., also ended the week on a high note gaining 16.17%. The company excited market sentiment by announcing an impressive finding of high-grade lithium brine at one of its North American drilling sites.

Group Data: Battery Value-Chain

Funds Specific Data: BATG, VOLT, LITU