Japan ETFs dominate our Weekly Top ETF list

Suga's resignation and Virus slowdown favours Japanese ETFs

Optimism following Suga's decision to step down continue to bolster the Japanese markets. Investors maintain their bet on the upcoming vibrant leadership that will potentially lead the third largest economy out of its mess. Also, the vaccination campaign has progressed with over 50% of the population vaccinated.

Recent data shows that the third and strongest wave of coronavirus have receded after reaching its peak in late august. The 7-day moving average of new cases dropped from 23,000 on August 24 to 11,000 by September 10.

All these factors have led the Nikkei 225 to gain almost 11% since August 27 and only once trading in red territory during that period. Consequently, ETFs targeting Japanese equities have benefited from the strong turnaround and gained between 2% to 4% last week alone. The top performers between September 6 and September 10 were Xtrackers Nikkei 225 UCITS ETF and iShares Nikkei 225 UCITS ETF, gaining more than 4.0%.

Global X MSCI China Energy ETF performance powered by Coal and Oil

The Global X MSCI China Energy ETF (CHIE), which invests in Chinese Energy companies of different market capitalisation has gained 8.63% last week.

CHIE benefited from the booming oil and coal prices, with its top holdings involved in either coal mining or oil production such as Yanzhou Coal Mining CO-H (8.13%), China Shenhua Energy (8.12%), PetroChina co. Ltd. (7.43%) and Sinopec corporation (7.27%).

Prices of coal jumped last week as China and India restock critically low inventories to meet robust power consumption. Oil prices continue to rise on higher global demand and on-going supply disruptions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where a large portion of crude oil production remains halted with Hurricane Ida's aftermath.

Honourable mentions: Uranium, Industrial Material and Shipping ETFs

Sprott Asset Management continues their Uranium buying spree through their Sprott Physical Uranium Trust. The trust has added 850,000 pounds of Uranium last week alone, pushing Uranium price to above $42/lb. Horizons Global Uranium Index ETF (HURA), a fund that primarily invests in physical uranium, uranium mining and exploration companies has gained +7.59% on the price uptrend.

WisdomTree Aluminum gained +7.24% on higher Aluminum prices. The light metal Aluminum has surged about 15% over the past three weeks as supply risks increase throughout the industry, from bauxite mining in Guinea and alumina refining in Jamaica to aluminum smelting in China and beyond.

Global X China Materials ETF (CHIM), with exposure to Aluminum, Cement, Copper and Lithium producing companies benefited from the rise in prices of the materials and gained +6.15%. The Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (LIT) gained +3.66% from the rise in Lithium demand and price due to an upsurge in electric vehicle sales, depleting stocks of the battery material in top consumer China.

Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF (BDRY) and SonicShares Global Shipping ETF (BOAT) gained +6.23% and +3.56% respectively as Covid protocols continue to disrupt supply chains, not to mention the increase in demand for global shipping for goods and supply-side bottleneck.

Top 10 ETFs of the week:

Europe

• WisdomTree Aluminium: +7.84%
• Ridgex GPF Physical Nickel ETC: +5.11%
• WisdomTree Natural Gas: +5.02%
• WisdomTree Industrial Metals: +5.01%
• WisdomTree Zinc: +4.75%
• Xtrackers Nikkei 225 UCITS ETF: +4.64%
• iShares Nikkei 225 UCITS ETF: +4.63%
• L&G E Fund MSCI China A UCITS ETF: +4.60%
• iShares Core MSCI Japan IMI UCITS ETF: +4.44%
• Lyxor MSCI Japan ESG Leaders Extra (DR) UCITS ETF: +4.41% 

Americas

• Global X China Energy ETF: +8.63%
• Horizons Global Uranium Index ETF: +7.59%
• Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF: +6.23%
• Global X China Materials ETF: +6.15%
• United States Natural Gas Fund: +4.81%
• X-trackers Harvest CSI 500 China-A Shares Small Cap ETF: +4.50%
• X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF: +3.67%
• WisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity Fund: +3.67%
• Global X Lithium & Battery ETF: +3.66%
• Franklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETF: +3.64%

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