The current situation in the United States is pretty terrifying given the protests and simmering tensions with China. Also, the number of coronavirus cases in the country has risen to more than 1.7 million. Moreover, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in some changes in the lifestyle and preference of Americans. Most of the surveys have found that people are more interested in online shopping rather than visiting a brick-and-mortar store for essential food items and supplies. Even as the U.S. economy starts to reopen in phases and social-distancing restrictions are being eased, people will try to minimize human-to-human contact.
Against this backdrop, let’s look at some ETF areas that make good investment options in June:
Biotech ETFs To Continue Gaining
The race to introduce vaccine and treatment for coronavirus is opening up opportunities, making the biotech sector a prospective space for investments. In the current scenario, any progress in vaccine is being closely monitored by market participants. Moreover, the White House’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, recently said that it is “conceivable” that a coronavirus vaccine will be available in the United States by December, per a CNBC article. Furthermore, President Trump recently formed a federal task force in charge of a $10-billion effort with the aim to produce and extensively distribute a coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020 (per a CNBC article).
Notably, ETFs with considerable exposure to the biotech space are iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF IBB, SPDR S&P Biotech (NYSE:XBI) ETF XBI and VanEck Vectors Biotech ETF BBH.
Airline ETF to Make a Comeback
Airlines in many parts of the world are planning to resume flights starting this month as economies are reopening and new safety measures are being undertaken. Air China (OTC:AIRYY) is expected to operate 24 international routes between Jun 1 and Jul 1, while Air France is planning to increase its flight schedules in June. Some European countries are also easing travel restrictions. Notably, Italy plans to allow travel between select European countries starting Jun 3. In this regard, investors can take a look at the U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS. This fund provides exposure to the global airline industry, including airline operators and manufacturers, from all over the world, by tracking the U.S. Global Jets Index (read: Are Airline ETF & Stocks Ready to Take Off?).
Growing Cloud Computing Market
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, people have to maintain social distancing and work remotely. Mastercard (NYSE:MA) has allowed its employees to work from home until the coronavirus outbreak is controlled. Twitter (TWTR) said that its employees can work from home permanently if they want to. The company’s offices shall remain shut until at least September, except for some necessities. Other major tech firms, including Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), have also extended their work from home policies through the end of the year.
In such a scenario, cloud computing’s popularity is growing and altering the way people are managing data, communication and business. It has also found application in social networking, messaging apps and streaming services. Investors can look at the following ETFs that can gain from the trend -- First Trust Cloud Computing ETF SKYY and Global X Cloud Computing ETF CLOU (read: Cloud Computing ETFs to Gain on the New Normal Trends).
Soaring Online Sales
In order to avoid human-to-human contact, people are staying indoors and shopping online for all essentials, especially food items. U.S. ecommerce sales shot up 49% in April with grocery sales leading the way with a 110% surge, according to Adobe’s Digital Economy Index. Also, global e-commerce retail sales skyrocketed 209% in April, driven by strong demand for home office equipment, gaming and digital entertainment, going by an analysis by ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) Research. Against this backdrop, ETFs like Amplify Online Retail ETF IBUY, ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF CLIX and ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN) can benefit from the new shopping trend (read: E-Commerce ETFs Surge Amid COVID-19 Crisis).
Robotics ETFs
The robotics market is flooded with opportunities as robots are being used for jobs such as sanitizing hospitals, homes and workplaces along with monitoring, surveying, handling, and delivering food and medicines. Against this background, we have shortlisted the following ETFs for our investors to consider: Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF BOTZ, ROBO Global Robotics & Automation ETF (ROBO) and iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF IRBO.
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iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB): ETF Research Reports
SPDR SP Biotech ETF (XBI): ETF Research Reports
VanEck Vectors Biotech ETF (BBH): ETF Research Reports
U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS): ETF Research Reports
Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY): ETF Research Reports
Global X Robotics Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ): ETF Research Reports
First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY): ETF Research Reports
ProShares Long OnlineShort Stores ETF (CLIX): ETF Research Reports
iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF (IRBO): ETF Research Reports
Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU): ETF Research Reports
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