After several years of disappointment, the Global X Uranium ETF (NYSEArca: URA), which tracks uranium miners, is on the comeback trail in a big way. Following a pullback earlier this year, the ETF is again soaring.
Last week, URA posted a gain of more than 7%, bringing its year-to-date gain to over 35%. Uranium miners and related exchange traded fund are heating up on hopes Donald Trump’s administration will be more nuclear friendly. The uranium miners segment’s recent strength is being supported by optimism over Trump’s administration.
Uranium remains controversial even six years after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. In response to the fallout, anti-nuclear activists have aggressively petitioned courts to block restarting the plants. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also been a vocal nuclear power proponent, arguing that atomic power, which generated almost one-third of Japan’s electricity pre-Fukushima, helps diminish the country’s reliance on expensive fossil fuel imports.
“First, the uranium stock mining ETF, URA, is about to challenge it recent high at 19 point. Note how that high was exactly the support level of two years ago (March 2015). That is certainly no coincidence, as former support always becomes resistance, and vice versa,” according to ETF Daily News.
Since Election Day, plenty of sector and industry exchange traded funds have emerged as beneficiaries of Donald Trump’s stunning victory. One of the Trump trade ideas, and one accessible via ETFs, that is flying somewhat under the radar is nuclear energy.
Another ETF for accessing the nuclear trade is the VanEck Vectors Uranium+Nuclear Energy ETF (NYSEArca: NLR), which takes a broader approach, including exposure to large and more stable utilities.
“Second, the bellwether stock in the uranium mining space is Cameco Corp, symbol CCJ. It broke out in December, came back to test exactly its breakout point. That is also no coincidence, as breakouts always tend to be followed by a retest of the breakout point. If the market now buys the stock at the breakout point, it confirms the start of a bull market,” notes ETF Daily News.
NLR is not the pure uranium play that URA is and the former has traded slightly lower this year.