TAN, ICLN Surge as Solar ETFs Shine on Debate Optimism

The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) jumped 6% as solar stocks surged following Tuesday’s presidential debate.

Renewed optimism for renewable energy, spurred by Vice President Kamala Harris’s performance, drove the sector higher amid broader market uncertainty.

Solar stocks’ strong performance contrasted with broader market trends, as investors reacted positively to potential Democratic policies favoring renewable energy.

The iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN) rose nearly 3.3%, benefiting from the overall boost to clean energy stocks. First Solar shares soared more than 14.6%, propelling the Global X CleanTech ETF (CTEC) 6.1%.

SolarEdge Technology gained over 6.9%, helping push the Global X Solar ETF (RAYS) 5.8% higher.

The rally extended to other clean energy ETFs, with the ProShares S&P Kensho Cleantech ETF (CTEX) advancing 1.5% and the SPDR S&P Kensho Clean Power ETF (CNRG) gaining 3.8%, both lifted by Sunnova Energy's 6.2% jump.

The ALPS Clean Energy ETF (ACES) climbed 5.4%, boosted by Sunrun’s 10.1 advance.

Semiconductor exchange-traded funds jumped as stock market leader Nvidia Corp. gained, a bright spot among equity ETFs that largely dipped today after an inflation report confirmed the prevailing expectations for a small interest rate cut next week.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) added 1.8% midday. One-fifth of the $19.8 billion fund's assets are invested in Nvidia, which jumped more than 4% today.

Nasdaq-tracking ETF Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) added 0.3% on the inflation report that appeared favorable to tech investors. The Consumer Price Index inflation gauge gained 0.2% in August from July, matching expectations.

Stock index ETFs dipped. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA), which follows the 30 biggest New York Stock Exchange companies, lost 0.7% while the broader S&P 500 tracking Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) shed 0.4%.

There were no surprises in August's inflation numbers and fixed income investors cheered the news. Meanwhile, volatility rose on economic and market uncertainty.

The bond proxy iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) ticked up 0.4%, adding to its weekly gain, while the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY) jumped 4%, suggesting an increase in investor fear that the Federal Reserve may not be able to engineer a soft landing.

This morning's Consumer Price Index (CPI) revealed an inflation rate gain of 0.2% in August, matching the 0.2% increase expected and the 0.2% rise in July, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' report.

Over the past year, the highly watched inflation gauge cooled to a 2.5% increase vs. the 2.5% consensus and the hotter 2.9% in the prior month.

One item potentially disappointing investors is core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% in August, compared with +0.2% expected and +0.2% in the previous month.

Crypto ETFs Decline Post Debate

Meanwhile, crypto ETFs, which had already been mostly negative over the past month, lost most of this week's gains following last night's poor debate performance by former President Donald Trump, a proponent of cryptocurrency.

The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) and the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) were both down 4% and 3%, respectively, in morning trading.