Yahoo Finance

The markets were in great shape in July after a steep sell-off in late June thanks to Brexit. The key U.S. gauges, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, hit consecutive highs. Tailwinds were sufficient for the indices to log a steady ascent.

These included the energy sector rebound, the much less-than-feared impact of Brexit on the global economy (at least so far), modest improvement in the ongoing earnings season and relatively better banking earnings despite low levels of yields.

Plus, upbeat U.S. economic data and hints of a more accommodative monetary policy from foreign shores boosted investors’ confidence and showered gains on the U.S. market. Among the top ETFs, the S&P 500-based SPY added 8.6%, Dow Jones-based DIA gained 7.8%, Nasdaq-100 QQQ surged 12.5%, Europe ETFVGK added 10.4% and all-world ETF ACWI returned about 8.9%.

With all that’s been happening, a look at the top ETFs of the month is warranted. Following are the ETFs which fared better in the last one-month period (as of July 28, 2016) (as per xtf.com)

Best Performing ETFs

VanEck Vectors Steel ETF SLX – Up 28.12%

The price of steel has been rising lately. The implementation of tariff on steel imports in the U.S. was behind this jump. With this method, domestic companies were given a chance to guard themselves against the adverse impact of Chinese competitors thronging the market with cheap supply (read: Time to Invest in the Steel ETF).

SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF XME – Up 27.77%

Material ETFs have given a commendable performance so far this year (as of July 28, 2016). As the Fed remained dovish, the greenback stayed calm and safe-haven demand continued to be steady, demand for gold and silver mining stocks was strong. Plus, other metals like platinum and palladium are also on a tear lately on favorable demand-supply dynamics giving this metal and mining ETF every reason to skyrocket (read: Top ETFs of the Best Sectors This Year).

Investors should also note that PureFunds ISE Junior Silver ETF SILJ and ETFS Physical Palladium PALL were also among the top performers of the month. SILJ and PALL advanced about 27.71% and 25.67% in the last one month, respectively.

SPDR S&P Biotech ETF XBI – Up 24.03%

The return of risk-on sentiments helped biotech shares to soar. The space has been a subdued so far this year being caught in a web of issues. However, after steep sell-offs, especially in the biotech space, it seems to have returned to reasonable valuation. XBI added about 24% in the last one month (as of July 28, 2016) (read: Best Sector ETFs for Q3).