Technology ETFs enjoyed a steady rally last week, culminating in a strong surge on Friday owing to better-than-expected earnings from internet giant Google. The PowerShares EQQQ Nasdaq-100 UCITS ETF (EQQQ), which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index, was helped to a record high on Friday after gaining 5.1% over the week. Technology stocks – and thus ETFs linked to them – have fared relatively well this year, backed by strong fundamentals, including solid Q1 earnings numbers. With Facebook, Microsoft and Apple all set to deliver solid Q2 numbers, tech ETFs could be poised for a further move higher.

Keefe Bruyette & Woods (KBW), a specialist financial sector investment bank, and the index division of exchange operator Nasdaq have teamed up to launch the KBW Nasdaq Global Bank Index. The index is designed to track the performance of those banks designated as global systemically important (G-SIBs) by the Financial Stability Board and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The index acts as an important gauge on the health of the global banking sector and is also a suitable basis for index-linked investment products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Heavy rains in the US midwest delayed the harvest and pushed wheat prices higher in June. With rising certainty that a significant El Niño weather event will occur this year, what can we expect for agricultural commodity prices? In their recent commodities outlook report, ETF Securities, one of the world’s leading providers of exchange-traded commodities (ETCs), commented: “We believe that should the weather event intensify, it could be a significant catalyst for price gains in sugar, cocoa, wheat and corn. Meanwhile it will be price negative for soy and coffee.”

The US, Brazil and China unveiled plans this week to halt the rise of greenhouse gas emissions and increase the amount of energy they generate from renewables. This welcomed effort to stem global warming and climate change could also offer an attractive opportunity for clean energy ETFs. In order to meet these challenges all three countries will need to make significant investments in clean energy, an effort which presents a tremendous sales opportunity for renewable energy-related companies.

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), one of the world’s leading index providers, estimates that $3.05 trillion is now directly invested in products based upon their equity and fixed income indices, with recent growth being powered by ETFs. Alex Matturri, CEO of S&P DJI, commented: “Investor interest in index products based upon S&P DJI indices continues to grow and be met by our leading family of US stock market indices and increasingly by our growing family of fixed income indices. While market cap-weighted indices remain at the core of our offerings, we are now seeing strong growth in smart beta-based index strategies amongst all of our client segments throughout the world.”

Elkhorn Investments, the research-based investment solutions provider, has announced the listing of the Elkhorn S&P 500 Capital Expenditures ETF (CAPX) on the Nasdaq exchange. “We are pleased to receive a license from S&P Dow Jones Indices for the S&P 500 Capex Efficiency Index, bringing the first capital expenditures (capex) ETF to market,” said Ben Fulton, Founder and CEO of Elkhorn Investments and former Managing Director of Global ETFs at Invesco PowerShares. “Capex is the reinvestment of resources back into a business and a key driver of future growth. The importance of capital expenditures has been widely overlooked in today’s market.”

Amundi has unveiled plans to launch the first exchange-traded fund in Europe to track the S&P 500 Buyback Index. The ETF, which is set to list on Euronext Paris later this month, with subsequent cross-listings on the other main European markets, will provide exposure to the 100 constituents of the S&P 500 with the highest stock buyback ratio over the previous 12 months. The buyback investment theme is supported by a sustainable trend in corporate payout policy in the US, observed since the end of the 1990s, whereby share repurchases exceed cash dividends and have become the dominant form of corporate payout. Buybacks can be triggered by strong balance sheets or undervalued stocks.

Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of smart beta exchange-traded funds, has published research showing that demand for smart beta investments in Europe is growing. Bryon Lake, Head of Invesco PowerShares, EMEA, said: “As the provider with the longest track record for managing smart beta ETFs, we have championed this strategy and our research reveals that Europe is ready to take advantage of the benefits…Our research has illustrated that big opportunities lie in the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland and in the institutional market as these products become increasingly mainstream.”

Invesco PowerShares, a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds, has announced the launch of the PowerShares Global Buyback Achievers UCITS ETF (BUYB). The fund, which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange, with European cross-listings planned for coming weeks, invests in companies that have bought back at least 5% of their own shares in the previous twelve months or most recent fiscal year. Bryon Lake, Head of Invesco PowerShares, EMEA, commented: “This new product offers an innovative yet simple factor-based way to invest in global equities.”

Invesco PowerShares is set to unveil the PowerShares Multi-Strategy Alternative Portfolio (LALT), an actively managed multi-strategy alternatives ETF in partnership with Morgan Stanley. Dan Draper, Invesco PowerShares Managing Director of Global ETFs, said: “One of the primary goals for investors that use alternative strategies is to minimize exposure to equity and bond markets, and to achieve better risk-adjusted returns compared to portfolios consisting only of traditional asset classes. LALT is an actively managed long-short strategy that seeks to provide efficient exposure to a broad mix of alternative-asset classes.”