As the markets quickly digested a Donald Trump victory, investors funneled billions into U.S. stock exchange traded funds.
Alongside the usual S&P 500 plays like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY), investors also focused on small-cap stocks over the past week.
Specifically, The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEArca: IWM), the largest ETF tracking smaller stocks, attracted $4.5 billion in net inflows and the rival iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: IJR), which follows the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, saw $633 million in net inflows, according to XTF data.
Smaller companies rallied and outperformed the mid- and large-cap asset categories after President-elect Donald Trump hinted at an increased administrative focus on the domestic economy. The recent strength in the U.S. dollar also lowered the outlook on U.S. exports and revenue for large-cap companies with a bigger international footprint.
The markets also targeted specific sectors in response to the Trump win. For instance, the Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLF) added $4.4 billion over the past week as traders bet that Trump could roll back some of the harsher restrictions placed on banks due to Dodd-Frank.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLI) also saw $1.9 billion in net inflows as investors anticipate Trump would have a positive impact on defense spending and would increase fiscal spending toward repairing and expanding domestic infrastructure.
Additionally, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLV) experienced $1.6 billion in inflows while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NasdaqGM: IBB) attracted $760 million over the past week. The healthcare sector, especially the biotech and pharma space, have been under pressure for most of the year as investors anticipated a win for Hillary Clinton whom censured high drug prices.
The most popular ETFs of the past week include:
For more information on the ETF market, visit our ETF performance reports category.