Best-Performing ETF Areas of Last Week

U.S. stocks closed in the red on July 11, 2025. This drop came after President Donald Trump announced a 35% tariff on Canada and hinted at even higher duties globally, sparking renewed concerns over trade tensions. For the week, the S&P 500 was flat last week, the Dow Jones lost 1% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced about 0.5%.

Trump’s Tariff Announcement Roils Sentiment

President Trump escalated trade rhetoric after Thursday’s market close, attributing the Canadian tariff hike to concerns over fentanyl trafficking. He warned that further retaliation from Canada could provoke additional duties. Speaking to NBC News, Trump suggested even broader tariffs, potentially raising blanket duties on all countries to 15–20%, up from the current 10% level, as quoted on CNBC.

Markets Shrugged Off Initial Tariff Moves

Despite the tariff-related headlines, Thursday saw the S&P 500 climb 0.3% to a fresh record high, while the Nasdaq gained 0.1%. Investors appeared to discount concerns over newly announced 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods and imported copper.

However, sentiment shifted on Friday (i.e. July 11, 2025) as traders anticipated updates on potential European Union tariffs. This uncertainty weighed on equities. Finally, Trump announced 30% tariffs on EU and Mexico, starting Aug. 1

Markets Still Not Immune to Tariff Threats

Despite the flare-up in tariff announcements, markets have shown surprising resilience. Barclays noted in a Friday research note that the market’s optimism might be premature, as quoted on the above-mentioned CNBC article.

Barclays noted that the recent escalation in tariff announcements has caused relatively less disruption to the equity markets compared to the sharp selloffs seen in April, when President Donald Trump initially unveiled broad-based tariff measures.

The bank also cautioned that while investors may currently be optimistic amid signs of peak tariff uncertainty, the long-term effects on economic growth and inflation remain unclear.

Musk-Trump Tensions?

Tensions seemed to have escalated between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. Musk announced the launch of a new political movement, the “America Party,” criticizing both major U.S. parties and claiming.

Note that the House of Representatives narrowly passed Donald Trump's sweeping economic legislation, dubbed the "Big, Beautiful Bill," on July 3, 2025, following a dramatic and emotional debate. Clean energy provisions triggered backlash, particularly from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The final bill abandoned the most extreme proposals but marked a clear shift away from federal support for renewable energy (read: House Passes Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill": ETFs in Focus).

Bitcoin Hit $118K

Bitcoin soared to a new all-time high, surpassing $118,000 for the first time in its history. The explosive rally was driven by renewed institutional demand, robust spot Bitcoin ETF inflows and growing optimism surrounding global crypto adoption.

Bitcoin’s breakout also came just before Congress kicked off its “Crypto Week” on July 14, where lawmakers will debate key regulations that could shape the future of the industry. Among them is the GENIUS Act, which aims to establish a federal stablecoin framework, as quoted on the Yahoo Finance article (read: Bitcoin Hits New Highs: 6 Reasons Why the ETF Rally Could Continue).

Winning ETF Areas in Focus

Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning exchange-traded fund (ETF) areas of last week.

Cannabis

Roundhill Cannabis ETF WEED – Up 25.2%

AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF MSOS – Up 21.9%

Cannabis stocks rose last week as Trump ally Gaetz indicated that President is in favor of backing rescheduling. The rescheduling would benefit veterans, scientific research on cannabis, and remove tax burdens for legal marijuana dispensaries.

Shipping

Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF BDRY – Up 19.6%

The underlying Capesize 5TC Index, Panamax 4TC Index & Supramax 6TC Index measure rates for shipping dry bulk freight.Shipping stocks have rebounded as tensions on key trade routes have increased, pushing up freight rates, especially for tankers.

Ethereum 

VanEck Ethereum ETF ETHV – Up 17%

21Shares Core Ethereum ETF CETH – Up 17%

Ether price gained about 13% last week on winning cryptocurrency momentum. Most Ethereum ETFs surged last week.

Crypto-Based ETF

STKd 100% MSTR & 100% COIN ETF APED – Up 16%

The surge in this ETF is self-explanatory given the rally in Bitcoin last week. MicroStrategy MSTR is known for its Bitcoin adoption. With Bitcoin prices are soaring, MSTR shares surged 7% last week.

Rare Earth

VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF REMX – Up 10.7%

Two of China's top rare earth producers — announced a price hike for third-quarter 2025 rare earth concentrates to CNY19,109. The new rate reflected a 14.14% increase compared with the same period in 2024. The announcement came amid rising US-China tensions over rare earth supply chains. As critical inputs for high-tech and defense sectors, rare earths are now seen as strategic assets.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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