July was a record-making month for U.S. equities and stock exchange traded funds, with the S&P 500 breaking a new all-time intraday high on Friday.
Over July, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.8%, the Nasdaq Composite increased 6.7% and the S&P 500 added 3.5%.
The best performing non-leveraged exchange traded products for the past month include the PureFunds ISE Junior Silver ETF (NYSEArca: SILJ) up 29.9%, SPDR Metals & Mining ETF (NYSEArca: XME) up 26.4% and iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners Fund ETF (NYSEArca: SLVP) up 24.1%.
[related_stories]Silver stocks rebounded along with physical silver, but miners experienced a stronger rally this year after years of heavy selling pressure. Additionally, with the Federal Reserve expected to push off interest rate normalization, especially in a more uncertain post-Brexit world, precious metals along with related miners have been among the best performers this year.
Meanwhile, the broader metals & mining sector, which includes a heavy tilt toward steel producers, has rallied on improved fundamentals in the steel industry. Since March, U.S. steel has been gaining ground when Congress passed a new customs and trade enforcement bill that allowed the Obama administration to take action against Chinese dumping.
Related: AK Steel, US Steel Earnings Will Test Steel ETF Rally