Wall Street witnessed a rout last week on growing fears of rising rates. The tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 Index lost 4.5% last week, the S&P 500 slumped 2.6%, the Dow Jones slipped 0.3% and the Russell 2000 retreated over 2.9%.
Upbeat Job Data
Nonfarm payrolls jumped a seasonally adjusted 172,000 in May, down slightly from the upwardly revised 179,000 in April and way higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 80,000, as quoted on CNBC.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, as expected. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% for the month and were up 3.4% over the past year, both in line with the Wall Street consensus, as reported by CNBC.
Such a hot jobs report fueled Fed rate hike bets. This is especially true given that inflation reached its highest level in three years. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, the central bank's preferred inflation gauge, rose 3.8% year over year in April, up from 3.5% in March and marking the highest reading in three years.
Steep Sell-Off in Chip Stocks
Chip stocks were hammered on June 5, 2026, with the semiconductor sector suffering its steepest decline since April 2025, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. The slump has erased more than $1 trillion in market value as investors rapidly unwind positions tied to the AI boom.
The divergence in the market selloff suggests this is not a full-scale market sell-off. Instead, it appears to be a concentrated unwinding of one of the market's most crowded and high-flying trades. Notably, the 10 largest decliners accounted for about $923 billion of those losses, the Yahoo article noted. Prior to this selloff, chip biggie Broadcom Inc.’s AVGO had dropped 14.2% last week due to downbeat guidance.
Winning ETFs of the Week
Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF BWET – Up 25.5% Last Week
The Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted key shipping routes, driving a sharp surge in freight rates. This has strengthened the investment case for BWET. Broader disruptions across global trade lanes have also supported shipping stocks this year, with elevated shipping rates in recent months positioning the fund as a clear beneficiary (read: Shipping ETF (BWET) Hits New 52-Week High).
ProShares Short Ether ETF SETH – Up 25.5% Last Week
The underlying Bloomberg Ethereum Index measures the performance of a single ether traded in USD. The price of Ethereum has dropped about 22.2% last week (as of June 5, 2026). Rising rate worries have hurt this risky and volatile asset.
ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF BITI – Up 15.2% Last Week
The underlying Bloomberg Bitcoin Index measures the performance of a single bitcoin traded in USD. Price of Bitcoin has dropped about 15% last week (as of June 5, 2026). Higher rates and profit booking have hurt the space.
Roundhill Cannabis ETF WEED – Up 11.5% Last Week
This ETF is active and does not track a benchmark. The U.S. cannabis industry got a major boost, as the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration proposed moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.
The change would exempt cannabis businesses from Section 280E tax restrictions, allowing them to deduct ordinary business expenses. For now, the proposal applies to medical marijuana, with hearings set for June 29 to consider extending Schedule III status to recreational cannabis as well, per Motley Fool, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
Roundhill UNH WeeklyPay ETF UNHW – Up 8.9% Last Week
The Roundhill UNH WeeklyPay ETF seeks to pay weekly distributions and to provide calendar week returns, before fees and expenses, that correspond to 1.2 times the calendar week total return of common shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated. The fund charges 99 bps in fees and yields 16.14% annually.
UnitedHealth's efforts to cut costs and simplify its business are helping to boost its bottom line. The move should help its stock performance, per Bank of America, as quoted on CNBC.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).