Disaster Recovery ETF Rises Amid Tropical Storm Debby

The Procure Disaster Recovery Strategy ETF (FIXT) recently rose 0.9% in Thursday trading, bringing its monthly gain to 0.2% and yearly increase to 20.1%. FIXIT, designed to hedge against natural disasters, tracks an equal-weighted index of global companies aiding the disaster recovery across climatological, geophysical, hydrological, and meteorological categories. 

The ETF’s movement comes as Tropical Storm Debby makes its second U.S. landfall, causing fatalities and significant damage. At least six deaths have been reported after a tornado struck Lucama, North Carolina. 

Since hitting Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday, Debby has dumped over a foot of rain across parts of the Southeast. Today also marks the one-year anniversary of the devastating West Maui wildfires. The August 8, 2023 disaster, Hawaii’s worst on record, destroyed over 3,900 properties and claimed more than 100 lives.

Stocks were gaining midday Thursday after jobless claims (the number of people applying for unemployment for the first time) rose by less than expected and calmed recessions fears. 

The latest weakness in the labor market has created investor anxiety that a recession might hit the U.S. economy. Corporate earnings also provided a boost to stocks today.

SPY, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust jumped more than 1.7% while DIA, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust rose nearly 1.5%. Markets were boosted by jumps in tech, healthcare, and consumer discretionary sectors.

Healthcare ETFs rose thanks to Eli Lilly, which reported better than expected revenue thanks to spiking sales of its weight-loss drugs. The stock rose more than 7.5% Thursday.

XLV, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund rose by just under 2%; the fund has nearly 12% allocated to pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. IHE, the iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF popped 2.5%, due to a 20% allocation to the drug maker.

Other sectors also provided broad market support. XLK, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund rose 2.75% while QQQ, the Invesco QQQ Trust was 2.3% higher.

Cryptocurrency ETFs Soar, Bitcoin Prices Rebound

Cryptocurrency ETFs were among the top flyers on Thursday as bitcoin prices rebounded from the declines earlier in the week. Bitcoin prices rose to more than $59,000, according to CoinMarketCap, up from $49,000 on Monday.

IBIT, the IShares Bitcoin Trust soared 8% Thursday. WGMI, the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF leapt over 9%. Ethereum ETFs also saw increases as investors turned back to the cryptocurrency trade. 

FETH, the Fidelity Ethereum Fund was 6% higher Thursday as ethereum prices struggled to comeback from Monday's losses.