Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Class A Common StockSpaceX stock up nearly 30% since IPO and its levered ETFs saw record first-day volume, driving positive sentiment.

Flows into thematic ETFs are accelerating in a way that resembles the 2020 boom, but this time the surge is led by hard-tech themes like space, nuclear power, quantum computing, robotics, and crypto infrastructure rather than stay-at-home stocks and profitless tech. Strategas ETF Research notes that the environment and leadership are different, yet flows are picking up at a pace akin to 2020. The spark has been SpaceX, whose stock is up nearly 30% since its IPO, and eleven levered SpaceX ETFs that began trading this week saw more than $1 billion in combined volume on their first day, a record start for levered single-stock ETFs. Since the SpaceX IPO, several thematic ETF groups have posted gains, with nuclear and uranium funds up 3% to 6%, crypto infrastructure funds up 2% to 4%, defense and aerospace funds up 2% to 4%, robotics and AI funds up 1% to 3%, quantum computing funds up about 1%, and grid and infrastructure funds flat to up 1%. Strategas counts nearly 400 thematic ETFs with almost $300 billion in assets, but warns that the average three-year drawdown across the universe was 32% and more than 60% posted weak risk-adjusted returns, trailing the S&P 500 over three years.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Class A Common StockSpaceX stock up nearly 30% since IPO and its levered ETFs saw record first-day volume, driving positive sentiment.