The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a pretty horrible day of it so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has dropped by a meaningful 0.75%, easily dragging the index back under 7,300 points. However, we are still seeing not one, not two, but three ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at new 52-week highs today.
Firstly, there's the popular Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS). VGS units closed at $111.32 yesterday afternoon, but opened at $111.35 this morning before climbing up to $111.56 around midday – the new 52-week high for this ASX ETF.
Then there's the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK). This fund closed at $10.17 a unit yesterday but opened at $10.14 this morning before rising to a new 52-week high of $10.17 shortly afterwards.
Our final ASX ETF at a new high watermark today is the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ). NDQ units closed yesterday's trading session at $36.62 each but opened at $36.82 this morning before rising to their new 52-week high of $36.92 just before lunchtime.
So it's a great day for any investor with money invested in any one of these three ASX ETFs. But why are we seeing so many new 52-week highs on a day when most ASX shares are falling in value?
Why are these three ASX ETFs at new 52-week highs today?
Well, you might notice that none of these three ETFs actually track ASX shares or the ASX share market whatsoever.
The Vanguard International Shares ETF is a fund that tracks shares listed all around the world, mostly on the stock markets of other advanced economies like the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Germany.
The BetaShares Cybersecurity ETF tracks a basket of companies that are all involved in the cybersecurity sector, mostly hailing from either the US, India or Israel.
The BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF is an index fund that tracks the United States' NASDAQ-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX).
As it happens, two things happened overnight that have probably given these three ETFs the boost they needed to hit new 52-week highs. Firstly, the NASDAQ 100 itself had a positive night of trading, rising by 0.11%.
This performance of one of the major stock exchanges over in the US would have given all three of these ETFs a proverbial shot in the arm, thanks to companies like Tesla rising by more than 4%.
Secondly, the Australian dollar has taken a bit of a dip this week, probably thanks to the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to keep interest rates steady yesterday. As recently as Monday, the Aussie dollar was buying 64.6 US cents. But in the past 24 hours, the Aussie dollar has fallen as low as 63.6 US cents.
Whenever our dollar loses value against the US dollar (or any other currency), assets priced in that currency are intrinsically worth more in our local currency. So because these ETFs are jam-packed with assets that are valued in US dollars, their value has increased over the past couple of days relative to us. That's another reason why we are probably seeing those ASX ETFs listed above at new 52-week highs.
