Nuclear-energy ETFs surge as uranium prices remain rangebound. Is now a good time to invest?

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Uranium prices have been stuck even as nuclear-energy ETFs have surged.
Uranium prices have been stuck even as nuclear-energy ETFs have surged. - MARKETWATCH ILLUSTRATION/ISTOCKPHOTO

Hello! This is MarketWatch reporter Isabel Wang, bringing you this week’s ETF Wrap. In this edition, we look at uranium and nuclear-energy ETFs, which have soared this month as technology giants are seeking new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet the surging power demand of data centers that train and run artificial-intelligence applications.

Please send tips or feedback to isabel.wang@marketwatch.com or to christine.idzelis@marketwatch.com. You can also follow me on X at @Isabelxwang and Christine at @CIdzelis.

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Exchange-traded funds that track uranium miners and nuclear-energy stocks have skyrocketed in October, as major tech companies have tapped into nuclear power to fuel data centers as part of their AI push.

The VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF NLR has advanced 15.7% so far in October, on track to score it best month since April 2009. The Global X Uranium ETF URA is up around 17% in the same period, with the $4 billion fund on pace to log its best month in over three years, according to FactSet data.

Amazon.com AMZN, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG and Microsoft Corp. MSFT are among the tech giants that have made ambitious nuclear-power bets lately. Amazon on Wednesday signed a deal with Dominion Energy Inc. D to develop a small modular nuclear reactor. The announcement came just two days after Google said it’s pursuing a similar path by purchasing nuclear energy from startup Kairos Power.

Just last month, Microsoft also signed a 20-year power-purchase agreement with Constellation Energy Corp. CEG to revive a defunct reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

See: Amazon makes fresh nuclear bet. Is it good news for this year’s hottest stocks?

Nuclear power — which had taken a back seat since the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan — has returned to the forefront in recent years as a “cleaner” and more efficient energy source with a higher capacity ratio compared to “intermittent” renewables such as wind and solar power, said Brandon Rakszawski, director of product management at VanEck.