US-Israel strike Iran — gold, silver new highs next week?
Today, the United States and Israel launched military strikes on targets inside Iran, sharply escalating tensions in the Middle East. Geopolitical risk premiums are set to return rapidly to the forefront of market pricing. Next week, capital inflows into the precious metals sector, led by gold and silver, appear almost certain. In the gold ETF space, the largest physically backed gold ETF, $SPDR Gold ETF(GLD)$ , is up 22.06% year to date, while $Gold Trust Ishares(IAU)$ has gained 22.05%. Among gold mining ETFs, $VanEck Gold Miners ETF(GDX)$ is up 35.06% this year and $VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF(GDXJ)$ has risen 37.27%.
Japan Stocks Hit Record Highs — Time to Enter or Stay Cautious?
Yesterday, the Nikkei 225 rose more than 1.2% at one point, breaking above the 59,000 mark and approaching the key 60,000 level, setting yet another record high. Since the start of the year, the Nikkei 225 has surged nearly 17%, ranking among the top performers across major global equity indices and significantly outperforming both US and Chinese markets. In terms of Japan-related ETFs, performance has been solid so far this year. The largest Japan broad-based ETF, $iShares MSCI Japan ETF(EWJ)$ , is up 14.54% year to date. $JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF(BBJP)$ has gained 14.50%, while $Franklin FTSE Japan ETF(FLJP)$ has risen 14.92%. Meanwhile,
South Korean stocks surge again — how to access the world’s hottest market through ETFs?
The KOSPI hit a fresh record above 6,300 today. After gaining more than 75% in 2025, the index has climbed another roughly 46% in less than two months in 2026. Total market capitalization has surpassed $3.76 trillion, overtaking Germany and France to become the world’s ninth-largest equity market. Related ETFs have also posted remarkable gains year-to-date: $iShares MSCI South Korea ETF(EWY)$ is up 53.15% year-to-date. Leveraged product $Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3x Shares(KORU)$ has surged 232.02% year-to-date. $Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF(FLKR)$ has gained 50.92% year-to-date, while $Matthews Korea Active ETF(M
The Endgame of AI Is Power: Nuclear ETFs Surge — Too Late to Buy?
At the beginning of 2026, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced in its public statement and restructuring outline that it aims to shorten the approval cycle for new nuclear reactors to approximately 18 months. The policy discussion also cited growing electricity demand from data centers and other high-energy-consuming industries as a key backdrop for capacity expansion. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy continues to support nuclear power through loan guarantees and demonstration projects, including advanced reactors and life extensions or restarts of existing plants. From a year-to-date total return perspective in 2026, nuclear-related ETFs have delivered notable gains: $Global X Uranium ETF(URA)$ is up approximately 28.5%, leadin
As diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran are expected to take place later this week, President Donald Trump once again issued a warning to Iran’s leadership. In the futures market, crude oil prices fell for the first time in three days. Brent crude dropped about 2% in early London trading to around $68 per barrel, while WTI crude declined roughly 2.1% to near $63 per barrel. Brent Crude Among energy ETFs with exposure to oil, year-to-date performance shows that $Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLE)$ has risen 18.2%, $Vanguard Energy ETF(VDE)$ is up 17.9%, $Spdr S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Etf(XOP)$ has gained 13.9%,
Last week, gold saw a sharp correction after hitting a record high of 5,595.4 USD per ounce, briefly falling to 4,460 USD. Today, gold has moved back above 5,000 USD per ounce, with an intraday high of 5,092.3 USD. Over the past two trading days, prices have rebounded by more than 8.5%. Silver experienced an even more violent move. At its peak, silver briefly surged above 121 USD, before suffering the largest single-day drop on record, plunging 26.9% to 79 USD. The decline was significantly deeper than that of gold. Today, silver has reclaimed the 90 USD level, marking a recovery of 13.2%. Among physical gold ETFs, $SPDR Gold ETF(GLD)$ rose 6.4% on the day and $Gold Trust Ishares(IAU)$ gained 6.2%, closely
Tariffs finalized — Indian stocks surge! Which ETFs are worth watching?
On Monday evening, Donald Trump announced a new 18% tariff rate on Indian goods, lower than the 20% imposed on Vietnam and Bangladesh. Compared with the punitive tariffs of up to 50% introduced in August last year, the move is a clear positive for India’s labor-intensive export sectors, including apparel, footwear, and jewelry. On the back of this policy adjustment, Indian equities rallied across the board. Trump said the decision was made after a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the announcement, the NSE Nifty 50 jumped as much as 2.85% intraday, while the S&P BSE Sensex 30 also rose 2.83%. India-related ETFs also saw gains: VWO, the largest dollar-denominated ETF, rose 0.5% daily; INDA and EPI gained 3.0%; FLIN increased 2.6%; and SMIN climbed 3.4%. Prev