It's been a fairly pleasant, if volatile, day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX 200 shares so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has added 0.16% up to 7,716 points after rising as high as 7,738 points earlier this morning. But let's talk about four top ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are doing even better.
This session has seen no fewer than four ASX ETFs clock new record highs.
There's the Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF (ASX: VTS), which hit a new high of $393 per unit this morning.
That was followed by the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS). This ETF reached up as high as $123.76 per unit just before midday.
The VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT) joined in just after market open this morning, clocking a new record of $128.35 per unit.
Finally, we have the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV). This index fund delighted investors with a new all-time high just before midday of $52.97.
You might notice that none of these ASX ETFs actually track ASX shares though. In fact, all four have heavy exposure to the US markets. As such, it's relatively simple to explain why every member of this quartet has almost simultaneously hit a new record today.
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Why are these top ASX ETFs at new record highs today?
The US markets as a whole have been on a tear over March thus far.
Last night's trading over on the American markets, for instance, was a momentous one. Yet again, we saw the flagship US stock market index – the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) – hit a new high. Well, it was a closing high. Last night's session saw the S&P 500 Index close at its highest level ever at 5,178.51 points after rising 0.56%. That doesn't quite equal this index's all-time record of 5,189.26. But it's mighty close.
All four of the ASX ETFs listed above exclusively hold US shares, with the exception of the Vanguard International Shares ETF. Approximately 70% of this fund's portfolio is tilted towards the United States.
Last night saw 'magnificent seven' stocks like Apple, NVIDIA, Microsoft and Amazon all pushing higher. As such, it's no surprise to see these ASX exchange-traded funds, most of which count these seven shares as major holdings, follow suit.
Also assisting would be the continued weakness of the Australian dollar against the US dollar. All of these ETFs are on the ASX, and as such are priced in Australian dollars. So when our dollar is weak, it boosts the value of American assets when translated into our local currency on the ASX.
This latest push higher for these ETFs is just the latest in a parade of stonking returns that ASX investors have enjoyed though. The best performer of the bunch – the iShares S&P 500 ETF – is now up a whopping 34.94% over just the past 12 months.
